Philippines VC Firm Kaya Founders Hits P1 Billion in Second Close of 2 Funds

Kaya Founders has raised a total of P1 billion (about $18 million) after the close of its two latest funds, allowing it to support the growth of more early-stage startups not just in the Philippines but across Southeast Asia. The venture capital fund says its total assets under management is now at P1.25 billion ($22.5 million). 

Participating in the round are investors such as Singapore-based Pavilion Capital, Gabriel and Geraldine Sunshine of Boston-based hedge fund Bracebridge Capital, and Concentric Equity Partners, together with family offices, high net-worth individuals, and established entrepreneurs.

Kaya Founders closed the first of its two funds, amounting to $12 million (approximately P671 million) in June 2023. That brought its total committed capital managed to $16.5 million (approximately P923 million).

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Coinciding with the announcement of its second close is Kaya Founders’ appointment as an official co-investment partner (CIP) of the Startup Venture Fund (SVF)—a P500 million fund focused on local startups managed by the National Development Company (NDC), the investment arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Kaya Founders was founded in 2021 by leading entrepreneurs and angel investors including Paulo Campos, Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, Constantin Robertz, and Ray Alimurung. Its mission then as now is to invest in the next generation of tech-enabled, industry-shaping companies in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Investments typically range from pre-seed to Series A companies, between P5.5 million ($100,000) and P27.5 million ($500,000).

The VC recently welcomed former Potato Corner COO and Union Digital Bank director Dominic Hernandez as its new strategic director.  It currently has 44 companies in its portfolio, spanning a wide range of sectors including ecommerce, software as a service (SaaS), healthcare, financial services, agriculture, and others.

Its two funds—named the “Zero to One” and “One to Ten” funds, alluding to the stage each one is focused on—will support as many as 30 to 40 new startups in the Philippines and the rest of the region over the next four  years.

Noteworthy investments the VC has made include eCommerce enabler Etaily, which announced a $17.8 million Series A funding round last November; cloud logistics platform Locad, which raised its own $11 million Series A round in January 2023; salary on-demand provider Advance; global plastic credits marketplace Plastic Credit Exchange; and microinsurance platform RuralNet. 

“We see Kaya as a vehicle to capitalize on the unique window of opportunity we are in, with the defining companies of the country and broader region to be built over the next decade,” said Campos, the founding managing partner of Kaya Founders, in a statement. “Above all, we see Kaya as an avenue to solve the most pressing challenges of our times, be it financial exclusion, climate change, or limited healthcare access.”

“If you look at the amount of venture funding that has gone into the ecosystem—relative to our GDP and population—it’s clear that the Philippines has long been underinvested and underlooked as a market,” added Campos. “Through our funds, we hope to catalyze capital into one of the most exciting economies in the world.”