Jungle re-hires fundraiser Menka Sajnani as a partner

Sajnani (pictured) was first recruited by Jungle in late 2015 to lead fundraising and take responsibility for elements of branding and external relations. Her new role is largely the same, although more time will be devoted to bringing LPs into deals as co-investors. As a partner, Sajnani will also participate in broader strategic discussions relating to the development of the firm.

“I have been in Southeast Asia tech for almost a decade and I am passionate about the region. Jungle has remained true to its ‘build to last’ vision and I am excited about the opportunity that the region holds for us as a firm and for investors around the globe,” she said.

Sajnani’s switch to investor relations followed a seven-year stint as an LP at fund-of-funds HQ Capital and 18 months in business development for Google in Southeast Asia.

Her tenure at Jungle coincided with a scaling up in fund size. The firm closed its second fund on USD 100m in late 2016, a 10x increase on the previous vintage. Fund III closed on USD 240m in 2019, beating a target of USD 150m. Most of the capital came from global institutional investors, including the International Finance Corporation, Temasek Holdings, DEG, and Cisco Investments.

Jungle has continued to grow since Sajnani’s departure, raising USD 600m for Fund IV in 2022 against a target of USD 350m. It attracted new LPs such as Mizuho Bank and StepStone Group.

Amit Anand, a founding partner at the firm, noted shortly after the final close that Jungle “was the first fund to pitch to both founders and LPs the idea of Southeast Asia and India as one market.” He added that the approach was vindicated by numerous global VC franchises doing the same thing.

“I mapped the market and Jungle came up on top for a vast majority of LPs that look at Southeast Asia and India,” Sajnani said. “The LP base has deepened over the last few years and assets under management have scaled to more than USD 1bn. The team has grown to 35-plus people, and we have established a deep presence across local markets including Indonesia, Vietnam and India.

On closing Fund IV, Jungle claimed its portfolio companies had a combined enterprise value of over USD 12bn on USD 250m of invested capital and a loss ratio of less than 5%. The strategy remains sector-agnostic and early-stage focused with relatively compact portfolios of around 15 companies.

Standout investments include Indonesian cosmetics retailer Sociolla, Indian industrial B2B platform Moglix, and Indonesian consumer credit company Kredivo, all unicorns. Kredivo recently closed a USD 270m Series D led by Mizuho Bank. Jungle was one of several existing investors that re-upped.

B Capital has also been on a fundraising spree. The US and Singapore-headquartered manager closed its third global flagship fund – and companion vehicles – with USD 2.1bn in commitments. The firm raised USD 360m for its debut fund in 2018 and USD 820m for its sophomore vehicle in 2020. In addition, B Capital has launched dedicated funds for early-stage, healthcare, and climate-tech.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
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• Fundraising
• Technology
• GPs
• South Asia
• Jungle Ventures
• Appointments
• Investor relations