Investible hits first close of A$50m fund to focus on Australian, South-east Asian startups

EARLY-STAGE investor Investible has hit the A$35 million (S$35.8 million) first close of its A$50 million fund that will focus on startups in Australia and South-east Asia.

Limited partners in Australia-based Investible's second fund include family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Investible started as an angel investment club before it began managing its own fund. Club members co-invest with the fund.

Investible's inaugural fund closed in 2019 with A$22.5 million raised.

It has invested in 36 companies, including Indonesia-based agritech startup Eden Farm; Mosaic, a Philippines-based software company targeting the food & beverage and hospitality sectors; and Parcel Perform, a logistics platform based in Singapore.

Since the initial investment, 12 portfolio companies have raised more than A$50 million in additional capital.

The second fund's initial investments will range between A$250,000 and A$750,000. Follow-on investments will range between A$1-1.5 million.

Investible said 30 per cent of the fund's committed capital will be for investments outside of Australia, and it expects the majority of these deals to be for startups based in South-east Asia.

"This builds on the strong momentum generated from Fund 1, where we invested in outstanding early-stage businesses in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines," said chief executive Rod Bristow.