Northstar hits first close on Southeast Asia VC fund
Southeast Asia-focused private equity firm Northstar Group has reached a first close of USD 90m on its first venture capital fund. The overall target is USD 150m.
NSV I received commitments from the likes of sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors, family offices, and high net worth individuals. The firm expects a second close of USD 120m to happen in the first quarter of 2023, according to a statement, with a final close scheduled for mid-year.
Northstar, which was founded in 2003 by Patrick Walujo (pictured) and Glenn Sugita, manages USD 2.6bn in committed capital. Most of this is within the firm’s flagship private equity strategy. Its fifth fund closed at the end of 2021 on USD 590m, falling short of the USD 800m target. The process coincided with the worst of the pandemic in terms of lockdowns and travel restrictions.
Northstar’s PE strategy has evolved over time to prioritise consumer and financial services, with a strong technology overlay. It was an early investor in Gojek, the Indonesian super app that merged with Tokopedia and listed in the US last year as GoTo. Other growth-stage investments in start-ups followed as well as an investment in Go Ventures, a VC unit under GoTo.
The firm’s first exposure to venture capital came through NSI Ventures, which was part of the Northstar family but became fully independent in 2018 and rebranded as Openspace Ventures.
NSV I will make early-stage investments, primarily in entities headquartered, or with significant operations, in Indonesia, and to a lesser extent, other parts of Southeast Asia. The sector focus is largely in keeping with the private equity strategy: consumer internet, financial technology, and enterprise software. The firm believes each one will benefit from long-term structural growth.
The NSV I portfolio already includes Makmur, an Indonesian digital wealth management platform, Singapore-based content creation and distribution player 1BStories, and Indonesian B2B food and beverage distributor Wahyoo.
“The successful fundraising of our first venture capital fund during a challenging second half of 2022 underpins the strength of our firm, and the trust in our capabilities,” said Walujo. “We look forward to supporting more promising entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia to drive their business growth through both our capital and our expertise.”
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