Fundnel Group, Singapore-based marketplace for alternative assets, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday with BRI Ventures (BVI), the corporate venture capital arm of Indonesia’s largest bank, to launch a first-of-its-kind BVI – Fundnel Secondaries Fund.

Upon signing of the MoU and through this strategic partnership, Fundnel and BVI expect to attract investments of at least $50 million, both parties said in a statement.

The collaboration increases accessibility for a wider range of investors to invest directly into the high-growth Indonesian start-up ecosystem.

According to the statement, the strategic partnership leverages on BVI’s strong record of investing and Fundnel’s access to a strong pipeline of deals. The fund aims to build a portfolio of high-growth Indonesian companies through a non-traditional route of investment which will directly support founders, employees and early-backers.

This strategy aims to re-ignite stakeholders’ excitement to continue building these high-growth companies while allowing existing investors to reinvest capital into other exciting opportunities which will contribute to a vibrant start-up ecosystem in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

Fundnel and BVI will also work with start-ups to find structured and standardised processes for employees to find secondary liquidity for their stock options.

Under the MoU, global investors will be able to invest in Indonesian growth-stage start-ups.

Over the past three years, Fundnel has received a total of $22 billion in secondary (bid-ask) transactions across 1,000+ orders. Its licenced status and deep engagement in the Southeast Asian fundraising ecosystem grants greater access and pricing leverage to acquire shares in unicorns regionally.

In line with the idea of creating access and liquidity in the market, Fundnel is looking to explore tokenisation of the Fund on Hg Exchange (HGX) to provide further liquidity for investors.

With tokenisation, a valuable channel may be opened for investors to tap on liquidity on the HGX and it is intended to allow new investors to access high growth companies in the region with a minimum ticket size of $10,000, a small fraction of the customary $200,000 ticket.

“Exit environment has been more challenging these days due to various unfavorable macro conditions that lead to a supply crunch. Through this exclusive partnership with Fundnel Group, BRI Ventures is thrilled to make growth capital investments in private late-stage Indonesian companies to help provide liquidity in the market,

“Together with BVI’ strong track record of investments and huge ecosystem and Fundnel’s extensive pipeline of secondary opportunities, this partnership will also serve as an attractive entry point for larger foreign funds to enter Indonesian growing tech start-ups,” said Nicko Widjaja, Chief Executive Officer of BVI.

BVI is the corporate venture capital arm of Bank BRI, the largest state-owned bank in Indonesia. It was established to accelerate innovation and support Bank BRI by investing in high-growth companies with strong digital ecosystem enablement.

The firm focuses on creating investments that offer sustainable growth and healthy margin whilst creating value through emerging ecosystems and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It has a total asset under management (AUM) of $320 million and more than 24 companies managed in their portfolios.

“Indonesia has a very good ecosystem for start-up development and hence we are privileged for this opportunity to work with BRI Ventures. It is an endorsement of our capabilities to add value to start-ups in Indonesia,

“This MoU builds on our existing strong partnership with BVI and by combining BVI’s extensive network and Fundnel’s digital marketplace, we are confident to be strategically placed to assist start-ups in achieving their growth trajectory and potential. This MoU also marks our commitment to provide access and liquidity to Indonesian start-ups,” said Kelvin Lee, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fundnel.

Fundnel is Southeast Asia’s largest marketplace for alternative assets. It aims to expand access to and liquidity in the private capital markets with Fundnel, its private investments technology platform, and Hg Exchange (HGX), Southeast Asia’s largest private digital securities exchange enabling institutions to better serve their investors.

With Fundnel and HGX, its purpose is to create a sustainable marketplace with curated investment opportunities in alternative assets, that supports a virtuous cycle of private capital growth. To date, Fundnel has handled over $12 billion worth of private alternative assets. It is headquartered in Singapore with a growing presence in four countries across the Asia Pacific region.

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