Rising Giants Newsletter - August Update
Max & Dom chatting with the boldest and most inspiring entrepreneurs and investors in Cambodia 🇰🇭. Turn on 💡, Tune in 📻, Keep up 🚀
Welcome to the Rising Giant's Podcast Newsletter by Max Thornton and Dominic Kalousek.
If you enjoy our content, please subscribe to our post-interview newsletter as we share our most recent podcast episode, Southeast Asia startup and venture capital news, venture deals, entrepreneur resources, and job opportunities in the region!
▶️ Rising Giants Recap
We are very excited to release our episode with Keertan Menon, a frontier market and private equity investors with intimate knowledge of the Southeast Asia ecosystem. We dive into identifying potential companies within these markets, what makes a good frontier market investor, funding access for companies in these markets, and what Keertan sees as the next top country/sector.
Tune in this Tuesday morning to listen to the episode!
In the meantime…
If you missed our recent guests who were on the podcast, click their quote box below to tune into their episode. Each of these episodes provide really great insight across the blockchain, real estate, and startup incubation space within Cambodia so we hope that you tune in and enjoy!
N.26 Saing Sab, Co-Founder, Selendra
N.25 Jovany Antonio, Managing Director, DA&G Real Estate Investment Management
N.24 Jazmyn Himel, Incubation Lead, Women in Tek Network
📝 Venture Capital Deal Flow Highlights in Southeast Asia
AppWorks, a Taipei-based venture capital firm focused on Taiwan and Southeast Asia, announced today it has closed its oversubscribed third fund, raising $150 million. The fund total assets under management (AUM) is now $212 million. As part of Fund III’s close, AppWorks is recruiting new investment associates and analysts, especially ones who will focus on sourcing deals throughout Southeast Asia. Founded in 2009, AppWorks started its accelerator program before launching an $11 million debut fund in 2012. AppWorks’ ecosystem now includes 414 active startups that have collectively raised $4.3 billion, and have an aggregate valuation of $17.4 billion
Indonesian crypto assets platform Pintu has closed a $35 million Series A+, just after raising an initial Series A only months earlier. Pintu plans to use its Series A+ on “aggressive” hiring for all its teams and rolling out new features and products. During the first half of 2021, Pintu says app downloads grew by 3.5x through organic growth, while active traders on the platform increased by 4x.
Indonesian fintech startup AwanTunai successfully raised $11.2 million in financing backed by existing investors Insignia Venture Partners. The company is working on digitizing the traditional FMCG supply chain for micro SME merchants with online inventory ordering and digital payments.
Singapore-headquartered Parcel Perform, which connects merchants with e-commerce carriers and provides shipment tracking features, said on Wednesday it has raised $20 million in a new financing round as it scales its business in several parts of the world. The SaaS startup helps improve the experience of e-commerce merchants and their customers when engaging with carriers. Parcel Perform will deploy the fresh funds to scale further in Asia and Europe and also set up a regional office in North America, as well as increase its headcount.
📰 Frontier Market Start-Up and Venture Capital News in Southeast Asia
🌏 Forbes Asia 100 To Watch - 100 innovative companies to be on the lookout for over the next year.
🇰🇭 Pizza Hut International debuts in Cambodia.
🇮🇩 In Indonesia, Venture Capital financing is one of the few bright spots in a sluggish COVID-19 recovery.
🇻🇳 Four technology-based Vietnamese startups have made it to the Forbes Asia 100 to Watch list.
🇧🇩 Read about how Bangladeshi startup Shikho is currently revolutionizing digital education in the country.
🇳🇵 Learn more about the growth and development of the solar sector in Napal.
🇵🇭 Four Philippine startups land in Forbes Asia’s ‘100 to Watch’ list.
📚 Knowledge Base: Entrepreneur and Investor Learning Resources
In this week’s resource, we want to share with you a great podcast initiative (in Khmer) started by the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Cambodia that dives into different aspects of entrepreneurship and contribute to productive employment and sustainable development of Cambodia's future economy.
For background, YEAC was launched in September 2009 by a team of passionate Cambodian young entrepreneurs from various business sectors. It was established as a volunteer-driven non-profit organization with the ambition to empower young entrepreneurs and enhance youth entrepreneurship. Click the picture above for the link to their podcast homepage on Google Play!
Additional Resources To Check Out:
💯 The best questions to ask in your next interview.
🔎 Great thread on how funding affects success and startup teams.
💡 The hidden motivation behind angel investing.
🔥 The incubation playbook and breakdown of investment strategy by one of the best.
👨🏼💻 Frontier Market Job Opportunities
Sabay Digital Corporation is hiring a Business Development Manager in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Palladium is hiring for a Water Development Fund Framework Design Advisor in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
DA&G is hiring for multiple positions to help serve their clients in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Belt Road Capital Management is hiring for a Media Public Relations Manager in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Impact Hub is hiring for multiple positions in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
🗣 Help Spread The Word!
Did you enjoy this weeks newsletter and podcast? Subscribe now to get more updates each week as we grow this channel!
Follow us on our socials at Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin!
🧐 What is Rising Giants?
Rising Giants was created in 2021 by Max Thornton and Dominic Kalousek after realizing there were limited outlets for gaining insight into the startup and investment ecosystem in the
Rising Giants serves as an upbeat medium for entrepreneurs and investors to share their experience working and living in some of the most dynamic and positively evolving countries in Southeast Asia.
Our mission is to talk to entrepreneurs and investors to help understand what it takes to have bold ideas and build the business disruptors of tomorrow, in the most challenging, but highest potential markets of the region.
Through our personal exploration of these landscapes, we dive deep in our interviews with inspirational individuals learning about their career journeys, ideas, and insights into the markets of developing startup ecosystems, and expanding on why they see their business and the region as a "Rising Giant”.