Singapore-based venture capital firm Genesis Alternative Ventures has raised total commitments of $125 million for its second Southeast Asia-focused venture debt fund.

Fund II welcomes back over 80 percent of investors from Fund I, including Aozora Bank, Korea Development Bank, Mizuho Leasing, Sassoon Investment Corporation and Silverhorn, Genesis said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the statement, new and notable investors in Fund II include Japanese mega bank, Mizuho Bank, and OurCrowd, the online global investing platform.

Separately, Genesis and Indonesia’s digital-focused bank, Superbank, have announced a collaboration in August 2023 to provide up to $40 million of venture debt to promising technology start-ups in Indonesia.

Superbank counts Emtek, Grab, Singtel and KakaoBank as significant shareholders.

Genesis also announced that Philip Yeo, former Chairman of Singapore’s Economic Development Board, has joined Genesis’ Advisory Board.

Yeo is a veteran in the technology investment space across Southeast Asia and brings a wealth of experience and insights to guide Genesis’ continued growth and future strategies.

“Fund II has already deployed venture loans of more than $20 million to a handful of promising start-ups across the region, including in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,

“The current market has brought about a shift in start-up profiles, with a focus on leaner structures and a profitable mindset,” said Jeremy Loh, Genesis’ Co-Founder and Managing Partner.

According to him, the firm’s portfolio companies exemplify this new direction, positioning themselves for long-term sustainability and success.

He added that while the start-up landscape presents its share of funding and exit challenges, Fund II has already marked its first successful warrant exit.

“This validates the market demand for venture-backed companies that are strategically aligned with evolving market needs,” he added.

Yasuhiro Kubota, Managing Executive Officer and co-Chief Executive Officer for Asia Pacific (APAC), Mizuho Bank, Ltd., said the firm and Genesis have a shared vision in the venture debt space.

“Southeast Asia continues to be an exciting region with a thriving start-up ecosystem,

“We are confident that this partnership will accelerate the growth of promising firms with access to capital, industry networks and expertise led by Genesis,” he added.

According to the statement, Genesis extends debt to revenue-generating companies that are backed by venture capital funds.

These start-ups typically do not qualify for regular bank loans because they lack collateral, or have not yet reached profitability, and/or their founders and institutional investors are keen to take venture debt to build up the company’s credit worthiness while equally seeking to minimize unnecessary equity dilution.

Genesis is Southeast Asia’s leading private lender to venture and growth stage companies funded by tier-one venture capitals.

The firm is founded by Ben J Benjamin, Jeremy Loh and Martin Tang in 2019.

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