Convergence Ventures attracts Chinese investors to Indonesia

Convergence Ventures just closed its first fund, raising $30 million from investors, including well-known Chinese entrepreneurs, to place bets on Indonesia's burgeoning technology sector.

The Jakarta-based venture capital firm exceeded its fundraising target of $25 million, with financing from a diverse group that included Singapore-based gaming unicorn Garena and Indonesia's Emtek Group, according to Convergence managing partner Adrian Li.

Li, who started Convergence in 2014 after a stint as founder of Chinese online education startup Idapted, is tapping his network to increase bets on Indonesia, a country believed to be on the cusp of a technology boom as smartphone usage climbs and the middle class swells to an estimated 141 million by 2020.

In June, his firm organized a trip to Jakarta for prominent Chinese angel investors and founders, including Wensheng Cai, whose Meitu Inc is close to listing in Hong Kong; Kai-Fu Lee, chief executive officer of Sinovation Ventures; Xiaoping Xu, who started Zhen Fund and New Oriental Education and Technology Group; and Gavin Ni, founder of Zero2IPO Group.

"We see that there are similarities in what we experienced in China seven years ago," said Xu, who invested in Convergence's fund after the tour. "This represents a great opportunity to invest." Convergence's successful fundraising comes as venture capital investment cools in China after 2015's record pace. Early-stage venture fund 500 Startups closed a second Southeast Asian fund totaling $50 million last month.

Convergence, which plans to invest in 30 early-stage internet and mobile ventures, recently appointed Justin Kan, a partner at Y Combinator, and Manik Arora, founder of IDG Ventures India, to its advisory board.

Bloomberg