Thai Wah Group CEO Ren Hua Ho
Thailand-based listed agrifood major Thai Wah Group has formed a new venture investment arm to support B2B food and agritech startups in Southeast Asia.
As per an official announcement, the subsidiary will have a US$3 million (THB 100 million) registered capital. It is expected to complete the registration in Q1 2022.
Also Read: How 73-year-old Thai Wah works with tech startups to break new ground in noodles production
As reported in TechinAsia, in its initial phase, the VC arm plans to invest in eight to ten early-stage startups over the next two to three years. It seeks to co-invest with other VCs in revenue-generating firms that are raising US$3-10 million in pre-Series A or Series A rounds.
Apart from funding, Thai Wah Ventures will also provide value-added benefits such as R&D, pilot development, and production roll-out. Thanks to the VC, startups will have a better grasp of the retail, wholesale, and cross-border distribution markets.
The major goal is to invest in food and technology enterprises in several sectors connected to Thai Wah Group’s core industries, including but not limited to farm technology, food processing and bioplastics.
The company says it is in talks with some of Asia’s VC firms to co-invest in the selected startups, aiming to assist at least four portfolio companies in becoming unicorns in the medium term.
“Not a single person or company can do everything themselves if they want to make the right move and fast. We believe open innovation will help us develop the right solutions faster,”Hataikan Kamolsirisakul, head of Strategy and Innovation at Thai Wah Group, told e27 in an interview last year.
Founded in 1947, Thai Wah Group provides B2B food ingredients, starch, tapioca starch and flour within a global food supply chain business.
Touted as Asia’s largest distributor of vermicelli noodle goods, the firm claims that it has 13 operations in Asia and its business stretches across 30 countries in Asia, the US and Europe.
Also read: Agritech ecosystem in Thailand: More than 60 per cent of startups have not raised external funding
Thai Wah Group has been selected in the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s Sustainability Investment list over the past three years. It is also a part of the United Nations Global Compact program since 2020.
According to AGFunder, Southeast Asia’s agri-foodtech startup ecosystem is one of the world’s fastest-growing marketplaces. In 2019, the area secured a total of US$423 million in funding across 99 deals.
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Image Credit: Thai Wah Group
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