Incubate Fund Asia, a sector-agnostic Japanese VC fund specialising in seed-stage investment has promoted Rajeev Ranka and Dave Kwong as Partners in the fund. The promotion these principals the firm says reflects their significant contribution to the fund and their expertise in the Indian and South-East startup ecosystem.
The move comes as the fund aims to build a portfolio of around 20 startups with its third fund, which has a target corpus of $50 million (Rs 415 crore).
Rajeev Ranka and Dave Kwong are said to be instrumental in the success of Incubate Fund Asia’s India-focused entity, which was recently rebranded to enhance focus on pre-seed and Seed-stage startups in India and South East Asia. They have been with the fund for several years and have played a key role in identifying and nurturing promising startups in the region.
In their new roles, they will continue to work closely with the founders and entrepreneurs in shaping the future of their startups. They will also play a key role in the fund’s investment strategy and portfolio management.
Rajeev Ranka joined Incubate Fund Asia in 2020 as a Principal for India investments. He is an IIT Bombay graduate and has been leading India investments for the fund. Dave Kwong is a Partner at the fund and has been with the fund for several years. He has been instrumental in the investment and development of early-stage startups in South East Asia.
Nao Murakami, Founder and General Partner, Incubate Fund Asia said, “We are thrilled to promote Rajeev Ranka and Dave Kwong to Partners in the fund. They have been instrumental in the success of our India-focused entity and have a deep understanding of the startup ecosystem in the region. We are confident that they will continue to play a key role in identifying and nurturing promising startups in India and Southeast Asia.”
Incubate Fund Asia fund has backed 27 Indian companies across B2B, B2C, supply chain, and consumer tech segments across both tier 1 and tier 2 markets with $500,000 to $1.5 million average deal size. It expanded to India in 2016 and started Incubate Fund India, which was recently rebranded as Incubate Fund Asia.
Interestingly, Bajaj Auto-backed Yulu is amongst the companies that the fund had invested early on.
