Fintech investor Quona Capital, which invests in markets such as India and Southeast Asia, expects a dozen of its portfolio companies to go public over the next two and a half years.
The venture capitalist, headquartered in Washington and Bengaluru, is currently on the road to raise its fourth fund, targeting a corpus of $350 million. It has already received a commitment worth $50 million from European Investment Bank (EIB) for the proposed investment vehicle.
The firm also invests in markets such as Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, besides India and Southeast Asia.
Founded by Monica Brand Engel, Jonathan Whittle, and Ganesh Rengaswamy, Quona closed its third fund at $332 million in 2022, which secured the backing of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, European asset manager Golding Capital Partners, and global investment firm Cambridge Associates, among others.
While its India portfolio includes firms such as CreditMantri, NeoGrowth, Fisdom, and Rupifi, in Southeast Asia, it has backed firms such as Alami and BukuWarung in Indonesia, Pavebank in Singapore, and Sunday in Thailand.
“Our investment focus is likely to remain consistent, with India, Brazil, and Indonesia being our top three areas of interest,” Rengaswamy told DealStreetAsia in an interview. “India will continue to be a dominant market within Asia, reflecting our commitment to consistency and focused investment approach,” he added.
India’s financial services industry, which comprises banking, mortgages, credit cards, and digital payment startups, continued to lead PE-VC funding in April this year with total investments worth $312.6 million, or 28% of the total funding value in the month, according to proprietary data compiled by DealStreetAsia.
Edited excerpts of the interview:
