Next Billion Venture appoints SeedPlus' partner to South-east Asia team

NEXT Billion Ventures (NBV), a US-based venture capital firm (VC) focused on global emerging markets, has appointed SeedPlus' Foo Tiang Lim as venture partner for South-east Asia.

Mr Foo has over a decade of experience in building, operating and investing in startups in the region, NBV said in a press statement. He is tasked with identifying high-growth and high-impact startups in Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Singapore.

He currently serves as a partner at Singapore-based early-stage VC firm SeedPlus, where he manages a portfolio of South-east Asian startups including Qoala, Rukita, Homage and CardUp. SeedPlus has decided not to raise a second fund, and its other partners have moved on to roles in other companies, DealStreetAsia reported in February 2020.

Mr Foo was also formerly the head of market development for Evernote in the Asia-Pacific, helping to scale the company's user base and revenue in the region.

NBV was co-founded by Ruzgar Barisik, Ken Toyoda and Christopher Schroeder. Its current portfolio in South-east Asia includes proptech startup Propzy in Vietnam, fintech startup Advance and human resource platform Sprout in the Philippines, and financial wellness app GajiGesa in Indonesia.

"As a multi-market investor, we differentiate by cherry-picking the most compelling, ubiquitous problems that technology is addressing across emerging markets while recognising the localisation that is necessary for these businesses to succeed," said Ken Toyoda, managing partner at NBV.