Wavemaker Partners

Last week, our Partners, B. Paul Santos and Andy Hwang, along with our Indonesia-based Investments team (Junius Said and Kelvin Sutedja), flew to Ho Chi Minh City 🇻🇳 to visit our Vietnam team (Phuong Tran and Chris Le) and our #founders based there. We kicked off with visits to our Vietnamese portfolio companies, and wrapped up with a memorable founders’ dinner. During dinner, our partners led an engaging, light-hearted yet insightful sharing session, where our founders exchanged valuable experiences and explored potential #synergies. 🤝 🌟 A huge thank you to our portfolio companies for making this trip such a meaningful one: 🏬 Vigo Retail – A B2B marketplace connecting traditional retailers with FMCG brands, distributors, and wholesalers. 💊 Medici (Vietnam) – A startup providing accessible and affordable healthcare and wellnesses products and services. 🏦 MFast – A financial platform utilising a network of agents to offer a range of financial services in rural Vietnam. 🏍 Dat Bike – Manufacturer of high-performance electric motorbikes. 📱 CNV – Provider of a comprehensive Customer Data Platform and loyalty SaaS products to drive sales and customer engagement. 👨🏻🌾 FoodMap – An agritech company connecting farmers and agricultural producers with consumers. 👩🏻💻 MindX Technology School – A coding school chain building a comprehensive ecosystem for tech talent in Vietnam. ✏ Resonance Tech - A company that empowers Southeast Asian small and medium businesses with AI solutions. We’re already looking forward to our next visit and hope to meet more founders who are building the next wave of innovation in Vietnam! 🌊 #Wavemakers #WavemakerPartners #startups #SoutheastAsia

🎉 Congratulations to our #cybersecurity portfolio company watchTowr for successfully raising their US$19 million Series A! Led by Peak XV Partners, with repeat participation from Prosus Ventures and Cercano, the funds will fuel watchTowr’s market and team expansion. 💵 This latest #investment brings watchTowr’s total raised funding to US$29 million. Wavemaker Partners led its Seed funding and participated in Pre-Series A in 2022. 👨🏻💻 Founded by hacker-turned-entrepreneur Benjamin Harris, watchTowr helps companies strengthen their cybersecurity defense and processes. watchTowr’s attack surface management solution provides companies with real-time and continuous visibility of their digital vulnerabilities.🔍 Over the past year, watchTowr has seen significant adoption from critical infrastructure and Fortune 500 companies looking to strengthen their security measures.🛡 In addition to the funding, watchTowr also welcomed former Cloudflare President of Field Operations & Chief Revenue Officer Chris Merritt to its board of directors to help guide its global growth.🌏 Today, Chris serves as an Operating Partner at Peak XV.

Here are key takeaways from our Managing Partner B. Paul Santos in his recent interview with ABS-CBN News Channel in the Philippines, following our VC Deal of the Year win at the 2024 Singapore Venture & Private Capital Association Awards. 📌 Wavemaker’s VC Deal of the Year for Lhoopa’s $80M funding round marks our third win in the last four years.🌟 While there’s no magic formula for spotting scalable, defensible opportunities, he said certain factors stand out: a strong team, a significant & compelling problem, a product/service that is 10x better than alternatives, and favourable unit economics. For Wavemaker, it’s not about chasing trends but finding opportunities others might overlook.🔍 📌 Which brings us to Lhoopa, our portfolio company tackling the massive shortage of affordable homes in the Philippines.🏠🇵🇭 There’s a backlog of 6M+ homes in the country, and Lhoopa has developed a mix of advanced tech and process to build and sell low-cost homes at scale, giving more Filipinos a shot at homeownership. It’s not just making a huge social impact—it has a clear path to profitability, with exciting plans to expand beyond the Philippines. 📌 Despite the funding winter, Wavemaker’s portfolio in Enterprise, DeepTech, and Sustainability has proven resilient.❄️ Our companies have focused on building sustainable, defensible businesses that create real value overtime, not just fast growth for the sake of it. The funding winter has brought about a flight to quality investments, highlighting a return to fundamentals. 📌 Paul remains optimistic about Southeast Asia’s growth prospects, expecting the region to continue providing fertile ground for #startups and #VC investments in the coming years.🌏 Watch the full interview below! 📺 #VentureCapital #Startups #Innovation #WavemakerPartners #Enterprise #DeepTech #Sustainability #Lhoopa #Affordablehousing #SVCA #VCDealoftheYear #SVCAAwards https://lnkd.in/gTHShr77

Thank you Plexal and the CyberSG TIG Collaboration Centre for inviting our Investments Principal Joel Ang at the recent #CyberBoost Catalyse programme launch in Singapore. Speaking on a panel, Joel shared some useful points for #startups💡: 📌 Clarity is crucial when explaining how your solution solves problems for enterprises and impacts their operations, especially in #cybersecurity, where the market is full of buzzwords. 📌 It’s not just about having the best tech—it’s about adoption. A deep understanding of customer needs and pain points is essential to speaking their language and effectively addressing their challenges. Supported by Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and National University of Singapore, CyberBoost Catalyse is helping 10 of the most promising cyber startups to supercharge their global expansion plans from Singapore. 🇸🇬🌏

We’re deeply honoured to share that Wavemaker Partners has been recognised with the ‘VC Deal of the Year’ award at the 32nd Singapore Venture & Private Capital Association Awards for Lhoopa’s US$80M funding round this year. 🎉 Lhoopa’s mission to make homeownership more accessible in emerging markets is both inspiring and important. We’re grateful to have had the opportunity to support founders Marc-Olivier Caillot and Sabrina Tan, and the entire Lhoopa team, on this journey. Their dedication to solving the affordable housing shortage, especially in underserved communities, is truly creating massive impact. 🏘 🏘 This award, our third in four years, is a reflection of the unique insights and incredible vision of the founders we work with, and the collective effort of our partners. We’re thankful for the trust placed in us, and we remain committed to supporting innovative solutions that are solving compelling problems in Southeast Asia and making a difference. Thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey! 🙏 #SVCAAwards #VCDealoftheYear #VentureCapital #Lhoopa #Wavemakers #WavemakerPartners

Thrilled to share that our Managing Partner B. Paul Santos will be speaking at the Bloomberg Buy-Side Forum Singapore 2024, alongside Geetali Kumar (Head of Venture Capital & Disruptive Technology Investments, Asia at IFC - International Finance Corporation). As #ASEAN economies grow rapidly, driven by dynamic capital markets and a thriving #startup ecosystem, #investors must navigate significant shifts in technology, geopolitics, and investment strategies. Paul and Geetali will share insights on how the region can capitalise on these changes. 📅 Date: October 10, 2024 🏢 Venue: The Singapore EDITION, 38 Cuscaden Rd, Singapore Register here: bloom.bg/3MDqHbp #WavemakerPartners #Bloomberg #BloombergBuySideForum #Investment #techinnovation #ASEAN #geopolitics #venturecapital

Fresh news from our portfolio company Eezee! Introducing ProcureFlow AI—its latest solution designed to tackle the challenges of modern procurement. With AI-powered capabilities, ProcureFlow simplifies complex processes, reduces delays, and helps businesses scale efficiently without the need for extra resources. To learn more, visit: https://procureflow.ai #Eezee #Wavemakers #procurement #AI #innovation

🎉 Big congratulations to our Vietnam-based portfolio company, MFast, for their impressive back-to-back wins at the Asia FinTech Awards 2024! MFast was recognised as “Startup of the Year” 🏆 and Founder & CEO Long Phan as “Innovator of the Year” 🏆, underscoring their innovative #impact in the #fintech industry. 🏦 In Vietnam, where most people live in rural areas with limited access to financial services because banks are primarily in the cities, MFast is making a real difference. Founded by brothers Long Phan and Vinh Phan, MFast is working to improve financial access by developing a leading #financialservices agent network. 👨💼👩💼 MFast leverages agents to connect rural customers with financial services like credit cards, loans, insurance, and high-ticket items such as home appliances from brands that do not have retail branches in these areas. For agents, the platform provides a pathway into financial consulting, supported by online training and offline workshops. 🌊 We’re excited to continue supporting MFast as they work to bridge the financial services gap in Vietnam! 🇻🇳

🌊 We’re thrilled to announce our investment in Checkmate’s over US$1.6 million (NZD 2.7 million) Seed round 🎉 💻 A pioneering provider of comprehensive pre-employment screening solutions, Checkmate significantly reduces time-to-hire and enhances the candidate experience, helping businesses acquire top talent more effectively✅ Now with over 500 clients, Checkmate will use the funds to accelerate its expansion into existing and new markets 🌏 including Australia, the US, and Southeast Asia, specifically the Philippines. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gWu6VsbC Scott Inglis #Checkmate #Wavemakers #WavemakerPartners #HRtech #recruitment #software #startup #funding

Catch our Investments Principal Joel Ang at the Corporate Innovation Summit 2024 on 25-26 September in Bangkok 🇹🇭 🌏 This event brings together leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, and startup founders from around the globe to shape the future of corporate innovation and create sustainable impact worldwide. This year’s theme, “Redefining Growth and Sustainability in the AI Era,” features five key content pillars: Corporate Innovation, ESG & Sustainability, AI & Deep Technology, People Transformation, and Future of Investment. 🎟 Get your ticket here: https://lnkd.in/d8kmS558 and apply code JOEL to get an extra 10% off all ticket types. #CIS2024 #CorporateInnovationSummit #AI #Sustainability #Investment #PeopleTransformation #ESG #deeptech #WavemakerPartners #Wavemaker