Patamar Capital, an impact investor that specialises in early-stage investments, has raised $23.6 million for the first close of its new venture capital fund, Patamar Fund II, according to its US SEC filing.
The new fund, which has a target of $150 million, received commitments from 27 investors since its launch in May and Patamar Capital, formerly known as Unitus Impact LLC, expects the fundraising to be completed in less than a year.
The firm raised $45 million through its first Unitus Livelihood Impact Fund in 2016. The investor has supported 14 companies through the first vehicle, which is now fully deployed.
Some of Patamar’s investments through its first fund include Indonesian healthcare startup mClinica, Vietnamese for-profit social enterprise iCare Benefits and the Philippines’ jobs portal Kalibrr, among others.
With its latest fund, Patamar Capital is expected to back 20-25 early and growth-stage startups that are working on enhancing livelihood opportunities for communities in South and Southeast Asia, DEALSTREETASIA has learnt.
Patamar typically makes early-stage (Series A) and selective growth-stage (Series B) investments. The firm actively invests in the geographies of India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
“We make venture capital investments in high-growth companies solving South and Southeast Asia’s most pervasive problems at scale,” the firm said on its website.
The firm also applies a gender lens in identifying undervalued opportunities. According to Criterion Institute, gender lens investing is incorporating gender analysis into financial analysis in order to make better decisions.
Patamar had earlier set aside $2-3 million to invest in woman-focused startups in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The initiative is said to have closed four deals already in the range of $200,000 to $300,000 in women-led businesses at the seed or pre-Series A stage.
It made its first direct investment from its women SME-focused fund by leading a funding round for Indonesia’s farm-to-table fresh produce distribution platform SayurBox. The round was joined by Insignia Ventures and a clutch of angel investors.
Most recently, Patamar capital led the Series A funding round for Supahands, a Malaysia-based provider of training data for machine learning and artificial intelligence. The amount raised in the funding was not disclosed.
The firm also backed a funding round for Kinara Capital, an Indian company that provides flexible loans without property collateral to small business entrepreneurs.
