The Radical Fund has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Keppel’s real estate division to signify a strategic partnership with the shared goal of driving innovation in sectors such as the built environment, renewable energy, decarbonization, and infrastructure technology.
“This partnership represents a significant step towards accelerating the development and adoption of cutting-edge technologies that address climate-related challenges relevant to the real estate development and built environment sectors,” The Radical Fund Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner Alina Truhina said in a statement on Tuesday.
“With Keppel’s strong capabilities and deep experience in the area of real estate, we are confident that their suite of sustainable urban space solutions and proprietary digital initiatives will contribute to our collective expertise and capability to capitalize on the opportunities in the innovation and technology potential of this region,” she added.
Under the terms of the MOU, The Radical Fund will source for technology-enabled ventures and new climate impact-related technologies.
These companies will be assessed based on their ability to provide sustainable technological solutions within Keppel’s strategic priority areas, with a focus on enhancing energy efficiency, optimizing operations, and reducing environmental impact, while maximizing an asset’s net operating income.
The Radical Fund is an early-stage venture capital fund supporting and investing in entrepreneurs building climate adaptation and decarbonization solutions in Southeast Asia.
The fund focuses its investments across major Southeast Asian markets including Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia, and invests in climate-oriented ventures across sectors such as agri-food, nature-based solutions, built environment, energy and mobility, waste management, circular economy, water, health, and disaster management.
“At Keppel, we believe that innovation plays a key role in unlocking value and allowing us to achieve sustainability outcomes at scale,” said Louis Lim, Chief Executive Officer of Real Estate, Keppel Ltd.
“Technology is a key enabler for our work in enhancing our real estate portfolio, and we are constantly on the lookout for smart solutions such as those that can further improve energy efficiency in buildings, extend their life spans, and very importantly, enhance their value,
“We are excited to be working with The Radical Fund and their portfolio of forward-thinking technology ventures, where Keppel can potentially provide a platform to testbed innovations for the built environment,” he added.
As a global asset manager and operator, Keppel has strong expertise in sustainability-related solutions spanning the areas of infrastructure, real estate and connectivity.
Its real estate division is an innovative urban space solutions provider that leverages technology to deliver sustainable and customer-centric solutions that enrich people and communities.
It is focused in the areas of sustainable urban renewal, senior living, urban living, retail and large-scale integrated developments.
According to the statement, the Radical Fund will provide hands-on technical support to these companies to ensure that their solutions have a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to be considered for pilot projects with Keppel.
As a part of the Utopia Capital Management (UCM) platform, the Radical Fund leverages a global team of over 60 full-time experts across tech, design, product, growth, investor relations, and legal to provide bespoke support and venture building capabilities.
Leveraging local and global resources and testbeds to scale Southeast Asian ventures, the statement said the partnership ultimately aims to catalyze decarbonizing the real estate industry, estimated to account for nearly 40 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, through innovation.
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