Gobi Partners to invest US$50 mil into women-led startups
By Digital News Asia October 12, 2018
- 1/3 of portfolio are women founders, industries ranging from agritech to eCommerce
- Mission is to continue serving underserved female market in region and beyond
GOBI Partners, a regional venture capital firm, signed a pledge yesterday to invest in women-founded companies, and stated a commitment of US$50 million (RM200 million) towards women entrepreneurs by 2020.
Signing the pledge makes the firm a participant of The Billion Dollar Fund (TBDF), a campaign that was organised by the Global Funders Consortium. The signing ceremony was held at the Tri Hita Karana Forum on Sustainable Development, which is held in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bali.
As a participant of TBDF, Gobi is ensuring that women-led startups will be included in their deal flow; to increase their overall investment in women-founded companies by US$50 million; to provide constructive feedback to women who pitch the firm and are declined; and to spread the word about the TBDF initiative to its networks.
Gobi is no stranger to investing in women-founded companies. To date, 1/3 of its current portfolio are women founders, with industries ranging from agritech to eCommerce to fintech to property management.
US$30 million has already been invested to date into these companies as well as a large portion earmarked for follow-on investments. In addition to these companies, Gobi has three new deals that are startups run by women: one in China, one in Hong Kong, and one in Indonesia. Signing the pledge on behalf of Gobi was Shannon Kalayanamitr, venture partner, who spoke about the commitment Gobi is making.
“I joined Gobi because it was one of the earliest funds that identified the underserved women market, I’m living proof. We put money where our mouth is and this US$50 million reiterates Gobi’s commitment to the women entrepreneurs out there.” Moving forward, Gobi’s mission is to continue serving the underserved female market in the region and beyond.
