With governments implementing lockdowns and travel bans in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become more difficult for startup founders to meet with investors face to face.
To keep fundraising discussions going, venture capital firm KK Fund is rolling out its Meet Your Match initiative to more countries in Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. The program initially launched in Thailand last week.
“Startups should not stop talking to investors in light of a market slowdown. Startups should be perfectly ready for fundraising when the market momentum changes again,” said Koichi Saito, founder and general partner at KK Fund.
The company said it was able to sign up a total of 70 investors, including Vertex Ventures, Sumitomo Corporation, Wavemaker Partners, MDI Ventures, Insignia Ventures Partners, Gobi Partners, Sequoia Capital, and SoftBank Vision Fund, among others.
Interested startups may submit their application by filling out a form and indicating which investor they’d like to connect with. They can also attach their pitch deck to their application.
If an investor is interested in a startup, an online meeting over Zoom, a video conferencing app, will be scheduled between the startup and the investor.
Applications will close in April 10 for startups in Thailand and April 17 for other markets.
KK Fund is also collaborating with ecosystem players such as Taiwan Startup Stadium, Plug and Play, Topica Founder Institute, and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation for the initiative.
The Singapore-headquartered firm focuses on seed-stage internet and mobile startups across Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Its portfolio companies include Indonesia’s co-living startup RoomMe, Vietnamese healthtech startup Med247, Thai sports startup Infofed, Indonesian furniture marketplace Fabelio, and Malaysia’s The Lorry, among others.
From: TechInAsia