Kickstart Ventures – Start, Scale, Succeed

Kickstart Ventures

Kickstart Ventures is a venture capital company located in Makati, Manila, Philippines. The company is focused on corporate venture capital across all funding stages including, seed, early-stage venture and late-stage venture.

Kickstart Ventures makes use of progressive business strategies to back Philippine-based startups. Assistance is given through financial backing, making facilities available for use, and through providing invaluable industry expertise. Kickstart Ventures also matches and sets up business connections. 

Overview of Kickstart Ventures

Kickstart Ventures is a venture capital company located in Makati, Manila, Philippines. The company is focused on corporate venture capital across all funding stages including, seed, early-stage venture and late-stage venture. Kickstart Ventures makes use of progressive business strategies to back Philippine-based startups. Assistance is given through financial backing, making facilities available for use, and through providing invaluable industry expertise. Kickstart Ventures also matches and sets up business connections. 

Brief History

Founded in March 2012, Kickstart Ventures had the goal of breaking through the standard protocol to accelerate collaboration between startups and enterprise companies. The idea was to combine corporates and startups instead of choosing between the two. In October 2011, Kickstart Ventures launched in the first ever Startup Weekend in the Philippines and got as much as 300 signups. This was achieved through both community and corporate support. In January 2012 the team made an honest and ambitious pitch based on facts and got modest funding as well as a modest team approved. By December 2012 Kickstart Ventures had ten startups in their portfolio: AVA, Bagosphere, WorkINspire, Kalibrr, LaunchGarage, Lifebit, Mission 1: Apptivate, Tripsiders, Tripid, and ZAP. Many more startups followed in the coming years. 

Geographically

Kickstart Ventures was launched with the aim of catering to the Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia regions. The company has two operational bases, both in Makati City Metro Manila, Philippines. [email protected] is the investment space, and [email protected] is the company’s head office. 

Significant Investments 

With a focus on FinTech, HealthTech, Enterprise Solutions & SaaS, EduTech, eCommerce & Marketplace and Digital Lifestyle investments, Kickstart Ventures has developed a substantial portfolio since its launch. In April 2018 it was announced that Kickstart Ventures would lead the US$1.6 million seed funding round of Sprout Solutions, an HR technology startup. Other investors in Sprout Solutions include Wavemaker Partners a private investor, and Beenext.
Additional major investments made by Kickstart Ventures are:

  • FinTech – C88, coins.ph, and Lenddo
  • HealthTech – Lifetrack Medical Systems, Medix, and Clinica
  • Enterprise Solutions & SaaS – Kalibrr, MyLegalWhiz, InnoVantage, Dialpad, Squadzip, Teridion, Engage SPARK, Lotus Flare, Spiralytics Performace Marketing, Spancart and Sprout Solutions
  • EduTech – BagoSphere
  • eCommerce & Marketplace – AVA, ZipMatch, and Zalora
  • Digital Lifestyle – Zap and Wattpad

Kickstart Ventures in the News

As reported by Philstar Global in July 2018, Minette Navarrete of Kickstart Ventures spoke at the Techtonic Summit 2018 where the progress of Philippine startups was discussed. Manila Bulletin announced in January 2018 that Snapcart joined the Kickstart Ventures investment portfolio. The real-time offline shopping and consumer analytical company closed on US$10 million in Series A funding from companies like Kickstart Ventures. In July 2018 Inquirer.net published an article about the startups and venture capital investors who were planning to collaborate in Ignite 2018, due to take place that month. Collaborators included Kickstart Ventures, who headed a panel discussion along with Monk’s Hill Ventures, Quest Ventures, and Gree Ventures. 

More Companies in Asia and Oceania

SoftBank

SoftBank Group

SoftBank Group is a Japanese conglomerate with various subsidiaries and investments around the world. Read about the company’s history and find out more about its most significant investments.

Read More
VC Bank Logo

Venture Capital Bank (VCBank)

Venture Capital Bank is an Islamic investment bank that operates in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Read More
Ventech China

Ventech China

Ventech China, a venture capital company with a range of interesting investments in various industries. Read about its history and find out more about its significant investments.

Read More
Mizuho Capital​ logo

Mizuho Capital

Mizuho Capital is a Japan-based venture capital firm focused on making technology and biotechnology investments.

Read More
Far East Ventures

Far East Ventures

Far East Ventures is an all-stage, all-sector venture capital firm based in the Asian Pacific. The company has a keen interest in investing in disruptive technologies within every sector including med-tech, e-commerce and information technology.

Read More
cyberagent ventures logo

CyberAgent Ventures

CyberAgent Ventures invests in countries around the Asia-Pacific region. The top countries invested in are Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. CyberAgent Ventures selects technology-focused companies that also have exceptional international market potential and are run by entrepreneurs who have good leadership and management skills.

Read More
Pitango Venture Capital - Israel’s Largest VC Fund

Pitango Venture Capital

Sequoia Capital India is a venture capital company located in Delhi, India. Find out about the company’s investments.

Read More
Pix Vine Capital

Pix Vine Capital

Pix Vine Capital, an investment firm located in Singapore with interests in the technology field. Find out about its ventures in Asia and plans to expand abroad.

Read More
Sequoia Capital Logo

Sequoia Capital India

Sequoia Capital India is a venture capital company located in Delhi, India. Find out about the company’s investments.

Read More

Investors with Interest in Asia and Oceania

Mark Pui

Mark Pui

Mark Pui is an experienced Asian investor known for his interest in blockchain technology.

Read More
Fadi Ghandour

Fadi Ghandour

Fadi Ghandour, a global shipping and logistics magnate and investor in the field of social change and entrepreneurship.

Read More
Jack Ma

Jack Ma

Jack Ma is seen as a champion of the startup business and in 2015 he started the Alibaba Hong Kong Young Entrepreneurs Foundation.

Read More
pansy ho

Pansy Ho

Pansy Ho Chiu-king, a Chinese casino magnate and the daughter of Stanley Ho.

Read More
Abhishek Bhatewara

Abhishek Bhatewara

Abhishek Bhatewara is an Indian real estate developer, angel investor, and the Director at Clique Solar. Key investment sectors include clean tech, real estate, AI and big data.

Read More
justin hall

Justin Hall

Justin Hall is a partner at Golden Gate Ventures, a Singapore-based early-stage venture capital company. He is responsible for sourcing investments across the Asia Pacific region.

Read More
Rajan Anandan

Rajan Anandan

Rajan Anandan in an Indian businessman and angel investor. He is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Blue Ocean Ventures, the first Sri Lankan seed fund company.

Read More
Miroslava Duma

Miroslava Duma

Miroslava Duma is a fashion entrepreneur from Russia.

Read More
alexander udodov

Alexander Udodov

Alexander Udodov is a Russian businessman and real estate developer. He owns the Aforra Group, a real estate development and construction services company, and is a member of the board of the Eurasian Pipeline Consortium.

Read More