Wavemaker launches Southeast Asia climate tech fund

The program, known as Wavemaker Impact, aims to reduce global carbon emissions by 10% by 2035 through its investments in cleantech start-ups. The firm claims to have identified high-growth and scalable climate-related opportunities representing a S$2.7 trillion ($2 trillion) market in Southeast Asia alone.

Wavemaker was founded as a US-based firm in 2003 and began investing in Southeast Asia in 2012. Philippines-based technology company Xurpas acquired Wavemaker’s US operations in 2019, leaving the Southeast Asia business as an independent entity. Both firms continue to operate under the name Wavemaker Partners, although the Southeast Asia-focused firm is sometimes referred to as Wavemaker SEA and Wavemaker Pacific Partners.

Wavemaker closed its third Southeast Asia fund with $111 million in commitments last year, beating a target of $100 million. Its second Southeast Asia fund closed on $66 million in 2017.

Wavemaker Impact, which has a track record of 35 sustainability-oriented start-up investments, expects to leverage a global network of investors, advisors, and corporate partners. The team includes Paul Santos, a managing partner at Wavemaker; Steve Melhuish, founder of PropertyGuru; and Doug Parker, ex-COO of Nutonomy.

They are joined by Quentin Vaquette and Marie Cheong, who built more than 10 climate tech start-ups during their time at Engie Factory, the Asia-based venture arm of a global low-carbon utility.

The team will focus on around 50 opportunity areas with the potential to reach $100 million in annual recurring revenue and abate 100 million metric tons of carbon at scale. These areas include land use and carbon sinks, agriculture and food, industrial processes, and energy.

“With existing technology, we already have the solutions to cut global carbon emissions by 50%, but we need to create incentives to disrupt traditional businesses, change behavior, and drive adoption,” Cheong said in a statement.

Wavemaker has launched several sustainability initiatives in the past 18 months. The most ambitious of these could be the Green Wave program, which focuses on making the firm carbon-neutral, mapping its portfolio of start-ups against the UN sustainable development goals, and running sustainability workshops for founders.

"Unlike other climate funds, we don't just write checks – we roll up our sleeves and co-found these businesses, helping identify the biggest opportunities, acquire the first customers, develop scalable business models, build product prototypes, and build the best teams,” Melhuish added.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Fundraising
• Venture
• Cleantech
• Singapore
• Wavemaker Partners
• ESG