Singapore-based early-stage VC fund Accelerating Asia announced today that it has invested in ten new companies joining Cohort 8 of its flagship accelerator program. The new cohort has two companies from Bangladesh: Edutechs and WeGro.
The companies come from 7 markets across Southeast Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines), South Asia (India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan), and the Middle East and North Africa region (United Arab Emirates), per an announcement on its website.
According to the announcement, the common attribute that connects all these 10 startups is significant market traction. To date, these companies have collectively raised US$5,800,000. The companies also have shown excellent potential for growth as they boast a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of over US$57,000 per month and an average monthly revenue of over US$27,000, adds the announcement.
According to Co-Founder and General Partner Craig Dixon, this market traction is what separated the chosen ten startups from the wider pool of applicants.
“The new cohort comes into the portfolio with strong early revenue and fundraising traction in their local markets. Accelerating Asia looks forward to helping them leverage this early success to scale into larger geographies and fundraise from a larger suite of investors across the world,” said Dixon.
Accelerating Asia says it has backed 70 startups in more than 20 verticals across eight cohorts. In total, Accelerating Asia portfolio companies are said to have raised over US$63.8 million in venture capital from many prominent investors such as Sequoia Capital, Cocoon Capital, MDI Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, and Indonesia Women Empowerment Fund, in addition to top angel investors and networks.
Accelerating Asia launched Fund II in 2021, Cohort 8 is the fourth batch of investments for Fund II which will deploy capital across Southeast and South Asia pre-Series A startups.
Pattern (Pakistan): Pakistan’s first social food app with a focus on the dine-in and pick-up experience which is more than 2x the delivery market. Pattern lets diners discover, order, pay, review, and unlock multiple offers at their favorite restaurants including loyalty discounts, redeemable reward points, cashback, and more.
Lemonade (Global): A marketplace brand that retails luxury goods at fair prices, connecting the world’s best manufacturers, directly to consumers across Asia.
Lister (Indonesia): The leading online learning platform for languages and test preparation in Indonesia.
Edutechs (Bangladesh): The company offers the easiest way to start adding technology to your teaching. Built from the ground up to automate and expand your teaching business with the click of a single button.
Fullfily (India): An electric vehicle-based full-stack solution for intra-city deliveries
On Demand Deals (Philippines): Empowers entrepreneurs to earn extra income from empty spaces by franchising ODD Stores, omnichannel convenience stores that can deliver in minutes.
Sova Health (India): India’s first full-stack Gut Health company offering proprietary synbiotic supplements, gut microbiome testing, and 1:1 nutrition coaching for conditions such as Acidity, Bloating, IBS, Hormonal Acne, Migraines, Anxiety, and more.
Proton (United Arab Emirates): MENA region’s first and only insurance platform that helps insurance companies better risk portfolios through behavior-based driving data and incentivizes insurance customers for good behavior.
Sparklehaze (Singapore): Provides enterprise-grade In-Room voice AI assistant for the luxury hospitality industry.
WEGRO (Bangladesh): Provides end-to-end solutions for farmers connecting them with finance and buyers to sell their produce.
