19/6/2019 – Accelerating Asia (AA), an accelerator program based in Singapore is expecting to reach the first close of its US$5 million first pre-seed venture fund in July.
The fund aims to identify and accelerate the seed-stage startup’s development in Asia and will look to invest in over 40 regional startups.
Craig Dixon, the co-founder of Accelerating Asia said the fund currently caters to a profile of more mature startups in the region that are too advanced for existing accelerators but are not ready for institutional venture funding.
“These startups are led by incredible founders and have great financial and customer traction, but are still missing some key elements they need to scale to success. Accelerating Asia’s program is customized to fill these gaps with needed funding and support to get them to the next level,” said Dixon.
The early-stage venture capital fund also named 10 startups that will be joining its seed-stage accelerator program, ranging from sectors including big data and ecommerce to remittances and human resources. The selected startups are from all over Asia, including Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
“AA’s program is specifically designed to provide our startups with the necessary funding, support, and mentorship they need to scale their growth,” said Amra Naidoo, the Co-Founder and Partnerships & Operations Director of Accelerating Asia.
Each participating startups will each receive S$100,000 (about US$72,000) in funding, office space in Downtown Singapore, and access to Amazon Web Services, Hubspot, and Tribe Theory subscriptions.
Accelerating Asia’s program is separated into two parts: a three-month period of weekly activities, followed by a one-month final period which includes a Startup Mastery Program in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
Successful startups will also be selected to join the demo day, which will take place on October 3, where they will be given the opportunity to pitch to corporates and investors. Applications for the next cohort will begin shortly after.
Accelerating Asia is an Enterprise Singapore-supported initiative. It recently launched ASEAN Smart Cities Accelerator (ASCA), a joint partnership with the Australian government to support entrepreneurs with ideas to promote the development of smart cities in the region.
