SINGAPORE, December 5, 2023 – Wavemaker Impact (WMI), Southeast Asia’s first climate tech venture builder, announced the final close of its debut fund dedicated to driving large-scale decarbonization efforts in the region. The first fund hit its US$60 million hard cap, surpassing its initial US$25 million target by 2.5 times. The additional capital will enable the firm to expand its portfolio of companies and continue making follow-on investments in its best-performing ventures all the way to their Series B funding rounds.
The firm’s latest limited partners (LPs) include, among others, the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC), British International Investment (BII), and Triple Jump / DGGF, three leading international development finance institutions and impact investors; Beacon Capital; Thailand KBank’s venture arm; and Autodesk Foundation, the corporate philanthropy of Autodesk Inc., a global leader in design and make software.
“We are pleased to have brought together a diverse group of investors, including development finance institutions, institutional investors, sector-leading corporations, and strategic family offices, all of whom are committed to supporting our efforts to achieve success with Fund 1 and create a platform for subsequent funds,” says Quentin Vaquette, Co-Founding Partner at Wavemaker Impact.
“Climate change is no longer merely a problem of technological development, but also of technology adoption, particularly in emerging markets. Through its venture building strategy, Wavemaker Impact systematically identifies areas of opportunities to fuel mass adoption and create new business models that can rapidly decarbonize society at scale. This combination of a compelling thesis, an innovative investment model, and strong team is what drew us to their initiative. We are a proud supporter and excited to be part of Wavemaker Impact’s bold vision and approach,” commented Sonia Srikuruwal, Investment Manager for Triple Jump / DGGF.
“DFC is proud to support Wavemaker Impact’s growing portfolio of innovative enterprises supporting climate solutions in Southeast Asia,” said Mateo Goldman, Acting Head of DFC’s Office of Equity and Investment Funds. “This is a highly significant transaction that will provide impactful financial support for innovative, and sustainable, values-based enterprises promoting scalable climate solutions in the region.”
Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director and Head of Asia for BII, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, said: “We are committed to increasing climate finance in Southeast Asia and believe technological innovations have the potential to drive transformational development impact. We are therefore pleased to be partnering with Wavemaker Impact as BII’s entry point into climate tech in Southeast Asia to accelerate the development of scalable climate change solutions driving mitigation and adaptation across key sectors in the region.”
To date, the firm has launched and invested in six companies, with another four currently in development. It is on track to finalize its 10th investment by the end of the year and is in the process of launching its first companies in India and Australia. Its current portfolio includes:
- Agros – a sustainable farming platform for horticulture farmers
- WasteX – a distributed biochar technology company that sequesters agricultural waste emissions
- Rize – a platform for farmers to reduce methane emissions in rice cultivation
- Helios – Southeast Asia’s first residential solar mortgage company
- BumiBaru – a degraded land flipping company in Indonesia
- RegenX – a regenerative agriculture platform focusing on commodity crops like coffee and cacao
The firm’s earliest portfolio companies have already raised financing from reputable investors like Norinchukin Bank, Schneider Electric, and Gaia Impact Fund, while the majority of its portfolio companies are gearing up to raise Seed and Series A rounds over the next 12 months. All Wavemaker Impact portfolio companies align with its 100×100 investment strategy—meaning they have the potential to reach US$100 million in high-margin recurring revenue and abate 100 million tons of CO2e emissions per year.
Marie Cheong, Founding Partner of Wavemaker Impact, commented: “We are thrilled and grateful for the investor confidence in our thesis of venture building 100×100 climate tech companies in the region. There’s a paradigm shift in the investor community’s perspective, with growing belief that climate tech ventures can be profitable, high growth investments that significantly contribute to the fight against global warming. We look forward to working with all our LPs to realize this vision.”
