The PDF version of this media release can be downloaded here

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AI Fintech Trusting Social raises venture debt from Genesis Alternative Ventures

SINGAPORE, 29 April 2021 – Headquartered in Singapore and operating across Vietnam, Indonesia, India and the Philippines, AI Fintech Trusting Social announced an undisclosed venture debt financing with debt investor, Genesis Alternative Ventures. Trusting Social is backed by Sequoia Capital, Beenext, Tanglin Ventures and 500 Startups.

Trusting Social delivers AI-led products to leading banks and finance companies, enabling them to provide credit to under-served consumers at scale.

Today, Trusting Social’s credit insights cover more than a billion consumers and are used by more than 130 financial institutions across Vietnam, Indonesia, India and the Philippines. Trusting Social is now focused on bringing its broader suite of AI-driven products and services (a full stack of lead generation, credit insights, eKYC, digital onboarding and portfolio management) to market, and to enable 100 million credit lines.

The company has two business models – an Enterprise business that allows financial institutions to access its capabilities on a pay-per-use basis, and a Partnerships business, where it jointly creates and manages consumer credit portfolios with an FI partner, and shares in the net profits.

“We are tapping on venture debt to strengthen our balance sheet, diversify funding sources, and accelerate the company’s growth, especially in our Partnerships business,” said Founder and CEO Nguyen Nguyen, PhD. “Our ambition is to enable financial inclusion on an unprecedented scale, and Genesis will be helping us frame our reporting for this purpose.”

Singapore based Genesis Alternative Ventures recently announced the final close of its US$80 million fund. “The flow of credit is a key driver of economic growth,” said Eddy Ng, Head of Investments and Portfolio at Genesis. “We are excited to be supporting Trusting Social’s growth as they increase their breadth of product offering, helping banks and financial institutions to increase their reach to the under-served consumers.”

The PDF version of this media release can be downloaded here

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Genesis Alternative Ventures closes Southeast Asia’s first venture debt fund at US$80 million

• Total commitments from investors exceed target range
• Institutional commitments include Aozora Bank, Korea Development Bank, PT Bank CIMB Niaga
• Genesis deploys US$30 million to tech companies, seeks those with profit-for-purpose mission

Singapore, 15 April 2021 – Singapore-based Genesis Alternative Ventures has closed Southeast Asia’s first venture debt fund at US $80million, exceeding the top end of its target range.

Investors in Genesis Alternative Ventures Fund I, anchored by Singapore’s Sassoon family, include Japan’s Aozora Bank, Korea Development Bank (KDB) and Hong Kong multi-asset investment firm Silverhorn Group. Earlier commitments include Indonesia’s PT Bank CIMB Niaga and Seattle-based global investment impact fund Capria Fund.

Tokyo-based Aozora Bank is a publicly-listed financial institution that operates through 21 domestic and five overseas offices. As at 31 December 2020, it has total assets of about 5.6 trillion yen (US$51 billion). In November 2019, Aozora Bank established a two billion yen (US$18 million) fund to provide venture financing to domestic venture firms.

State-owned KDB is a policy development bank in South Korea with total assets exceeding US$230 billion. By collaborating with Genesis, KDB hopes to facilitate the expansion of Korean technology firms into Southeast Asia.

Overall, financial institutions, fund-of-funds and family offices accounted for about 75% of total commitments from investors across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. 

Dr Jeremy Loh, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Genesis Alternative Ventures, said: “Venture debt in Southeast Asia has been thrust into the limelight during the Covid period with entrepreneurs seeking more efficient capital and putting in place additional capital buffers. 

“We are thankful for the strong support of our investors who have embraced the venture debt model in Southeast Asia. We are equally delighted with the robust quality of our portfolio companies. A growing number of them are making a positive impact to society and the environment, underscoring Genesis’ profit-for-purpose commitment.”

More than US$30 million of venture debt deployed to SE Asia tech companies

To date, Genesis has deployed over US$30 million to a growing portfolio of 12 venture-backed companies across Southeast Asia. They include Horangi Cyber Security, Indonesia’s flexible space provider GoWork, Lynk Global – an on-demand expert network platform as well as Believe, a B2B FMCG startup.

Another portfolio company, Matterport Inc, an expert in transforming buildings into digital spatial data, has announced in February 2021 that it has entered into a definitive agreement that will result in Matterport becoming a Nasdaq listed company via a SPAC.

Investing in for-profit companies that deliver impact at scale

Genesis is committed to investing in companies with the potential to generate sizeable financial returns while delivering sustainable positive impact.

Genesis counts Flow, Deliveree, Tanihub and Trusting Social among its impactful portfolio investments. The latter leverages AI and big data to enable financial inclusion for the underbanked, while Flow focuses on ethical, digital consumer debt collection in various Southeast Asian countries. Indonesia’s Tanihub gives fairer rates to Indonesian farmers, provides microloans for their crop and grows their businesses. Through its Driver Partner Benefits Program, Deliveree aims to generate better income through lowering the costs of maintaining their vehicles.

Growing importance of venture debt in Southeast Asia

Venture debt, generally deployed by way of senior, secured non-convertible debenture accompanied by equity options, is appropriate for emerging, high growth businesses that need to extend their cash runway to get to the next stage of growth. These companies may lack the track record to meet traditional criteria for bank loans or their founders may wish to minimise equity dilution.

Global data suggests there is significant headroom for venture debt to grow in the region. A recent study by Pitchbook notes that in the US, venture debt has grown at a faster pace than the broader venture capital market and that 2019 and 2020 were record years for tech companies raising debt. By comparison, venture debt makes up an estimated 2% to 4% of overall venture funding in Southeast Asia last year. While trailing US venture debt deployment, venture debt in Southeast Asia continues to gain traction as qualified deal flow continues to grow 31% quarter on quarter on an annualised basis since January 2020.*

*Internal Genesis statistics (2020 – 2021)

Genesis to host forum on venture debt and impact investing in May 2021

Genesis will host an online forum for industry leaders and thought leaders to share their experiences and exchange ideas on the venture ecosystem, specifically as it relates to capital raising, venture debt and impact investing.

The Genesis Forum, (http://www.genesisventures.co/forum2021), organised in collaboration with Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Singapore Management University (SMU) and PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore (PwC Singapore), will take place on 6 May 2021. Dato’ Sri Nazir Razak, who is the Founding Partner and Chairman of Ikhlas Capital and former Chairman of CIMB Group, will deliver the keynote address. Genesis and PwC Singapore are also expected to release a first-ever industry-wide paper on venture debt in Southeast Asia at the forum.

Genesis was founded by Ben J Benjamin, Dr Jeremy Loh and Martin Tang in 2019.

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The PDF version of this media release can be downloaded here

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Global Investor Capria Fund invests in Singapore’s

Genesis Alternative Ventures

• Seattle-based Capria makes first investment in Southeast Asia through venture debt asset class
• Genesis to tap growing opportunities in impact investing amid strong growth in venture lending

Singapore, 11 June 2020 – Genesis Alternative Ventures Fund I, Southeast Asia’s first private venture debt fund, today welcomes a strategic investor – Capria, a Seattle- based global investment fund that invests in venture equity and innovative debt fund managers that deliver superior returns and impact at scale.here

Genesis will leverage Capria’s expertise in impact investing to identify and provide venture financing to companies with meaningful impact objectives such as financial inclusion, sustainable food production, small business digitisation, gender diversity, etc., as they scale across Southeast Asia.

Genesis is Capria’s first investment in Southeast Asia and its first investment in a venture debt fund.

Capria counts International Finance Corporation (IFC), Ford Foundation, Vulcan Capital, Omidyar Network, Sorenson Impact Foundation, among others as its investors. Capria also joins a growing list of blue-chip investors in Singapore-based Genesis, which includes Sassoon Investment Corporation (SassCorp), family office of entrepreneur Victor Sassoon, and other notable corporates, family offices and high net worth individuals across Asia, Europe and the US. CIMB Niaga, a leading bank in Indonesia, became a strategic partner in Indonesia last year with a US$10 million commitment to Genesis to fund fast-growth tech companies in that country.

Related Article : Indonesian Bank CIMB Niaga join forces with Genesis Alt Ventures

Dr. Jeremy Loh, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Genesis Alternative Ventures, said: “We are delighted to welcome Capria as a strategic investor at a time where a liquidity gap exists for venture-backed companies looking to raise funds. In recent months, Genesis has seen a 30% increase in deal flows from high quality companies and founders. We are poised to make another five to six investments in the coming months which will double our portfolio size.”

Delivering Superior Returns and Scaled Impact

Capria specialises in investing in private funds and companies in underinvested emerging markets. These companies deliver essential goods and services to local consumers and small businesses leveraging technology and business model innovation in sectors such as financial services, healthcare, ag/food, logistics, and education.

Dave Richards, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Capria, said: “The idea of investing for superior financial returns coupled with sustainable impact is catching on in Southeast Asia and Capria is proud to partner with Genesis to further this wave.

“Until recently, ‘impact investing’ was very nascent and mostly associated with concessionary financial returns in Southeast Asia. This has started to change with more leading funds implementing impact strategies to tap into underinvested sectors and companies.”

As part of Capria’s investment, Genesis will also join Capria Network, the largest network of emerging market fund managers collaborating to deliver superior returns and scaled impact.

Genesis Team are Venture Debt Pioneers in Southeast Asia

Genesis was founded by Ben J Benjamin, Dr Jeremy Loh and Martin Tang in 2019 to help tech enabled companies accelerate their growth while minimising equity dilution. Dr Loh and Mr Tang have extensive experience in venture lending and equity investing, having spearheaded DBS Venture Growth Partners specialising in venture lending

from 2015 to 2018. Dr Loh also helmed the EDB Investment office in Silicon Valley from 2009 to 2014. Mr Benjamin is also non-executive director of OurCrowd Singapore, the Israel-based online venture capital platform.

Since inception, Genesis has built a high-quality portfolio of diversified and resilient investments including Horangi, GoWork, Hmlet, Matterport and Lynk Global, co- investing alongside leading global and regional venture capital firms.

Significant Venture Debt Opportunity across Southeast Asia

Venture debt has accelerated across Southeast Asia in recent years given the maturing of the tech and financing ecosystem. Global data suggests there is significant headroom for growth in the region. A recent study by Kruze Consulting shows that US venture debt grew 30% in 2019, accounting for 10% of total venture capital investments. By comparison, venture debt makes up between 1% and 3% of overall venture funding in Southeast Asia last year.

Related Article : Launch of Southeast Asia Independent Venture Debt Financing Business

With its young, mobile-first population, Southeast Asia is poised to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of high growth companies delivering access to digital products and services following in the footsteps of breakout companies such as Gojek, Grab, Lazada, Property Guru, Razer, SEA, etc.

Prudent Investing in times of Crisis

The data shows that financial crises have historically proven to be a time of innovation and entrepreneurship. Over half of Fortune 500 companies were created during a recession or bear market, and over 50 of today’s tech unicorns, collectively valued at $145.2 billion, were founded during the 2007-2009 recession years, including WhatsApp, Uber, Slack, Square, Alibaba & JD.Com1. In Southeast Asia, many tech enabled companies such as Kopi Kenangan, NinjaVan, Nium, Tanihub, have continued to raise funds successfully in the first half of 2020, Covid-19 notwithstanding.

Ben J Benjamin, Co-Founder and Partner of Genesis Alternative Ventures, said: “Major crises lead to a whole range of challenges but they also create investment opportunities. Fleet-footed entrepreneurs are able to tap these opportunities to create meaningful products and services to be accessible during turbulent times.

“These entrepreneurs have found their Zoom moments and we want to be there to take them to the next stage of growth.”

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About Genesis Alternative Ventures

Genesis Alternative Ventures is Southeast Asia’s leading private lender to venture and growth stage companies funded by tier-one VCs. Genesis is founded by a team of venture lending pioneers who have backed some of Southeast Asia’s best loved companies. Armed with a strong reputation among entrepreneurs and investors, Genesis is your trusted partner in empowering your company’s growth while minimising shareholders’ equity dilution.

About Capria

Capria Ventures is a global investment firm leading, partnering with and funding the largest network of emerging market fund managers collaborating to deliver superior returns and scaled impact. Capria brings venture capital innovation and global best practices to local venture capital, private equity and innovative debt funds, managed by local investment experts. Capria’s network of investing partners collectively manage more than USD $400 million in assets deployed in early stage and early growth companies in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Capria has over $100M in AUM which it invests directly in India via Unitus Ventures, and in other markets via partners of the Capria Fund which takes anchor GP and LP positions. Capria has offices in Seattle, Bangalore and Nairobi. More at: http://capria.vc