Indonesia’s AC Ventures closes debut fund at $205 million

The fund, styled as ACV III, achieved a first close of $56 million last year. LPs include the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Disrupt AD, the VC platform of Abu Dhabi’s ADQ.

Agaeti and Convergence had each previously closed one vehicle; Agaeti raised a $10 million fund in 2018, and Convergence raised $30 million in 2016. AC said these funds delivered returns of 2.99x and 2.41x, without specifying which fund achieved which figure. The new fund brings assets under management to around $380 million.

“The growing base of internet users and tech-enabled services has made Indonesia home to many of Southeast Asia’s largest digital platforms. Not only is this attracting more investment into the country, but it is also providing new and innovative solutions to solving today’s most pressing challenges,” Azam Khan, IFC’s country manager for Indonesia, Malaysia and Timor-Leste, said in a statement.

Active since March 2020, ACV III has completed 30 investments out of a targeted 35, with more than $100 million expected to be deployed by year-end. The fund is said to be tracking a return on invested capital of 1.94x. It makes investments of up to $3 million across Southeast Asia but mostly in Indonesia.

Several pre-series A stage investments were singled out as having grown rapidly during the pandemic. They include include logistics provider Shipper, robo-advisory business Stockbit, e-commerce company Ula, fishing industry app Aruna, micro-business fintech supplier Bukuwarung. All are based in Indonesia.

“Indonesia presents a massive, ever-growing internet economy opportunity and the pandemic boosted this further by significantly accelerating digital adoption and consumption nationwide across different consumer and business segments,” said Pandu Sjahrir, a founding partner of AC and formerly of Agaeti.

“Not only is the resilience of Indonesia’s economy in the face of this adversity gives internet sectors a massive opportunity to rebound, but the exit landscape is also heating up, as we will see notable public exits in the coming future from regional tech giants.”

AC is led by Sjahrir and Michael Soerijadji, also of Agaeti, and Convergence’s Adrian Li. The two firms merged in 2019 with a view to enhancing operational support for portfolio companies and reducing competition for the same type of deals. AC works closely with Singapore-based asset manager Indies Capital Partners, where Sjahrir was previously a managing director.

“Drawing on our personal experience as entrepreneurs – building businesses in emerging markets from start to acquisition and IPO – we are uniquely positioned to partner with our portfolio founders to tackle the challenges faced by rapidly scaling start-ups,” Li added.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Fundraising
• Venture
• Technology
• Indonesia
• AC Ventures
• Agaeti Ventures
• Convergence Ventures
• IFC
• seed