The Business Times
Investors in Quest’s latest fund include Pavilion Capital, the Temasek-owned private equity firm, as well as QazTech, a venture capital firm under Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, Baiterek National Managing Holding.
Founded in 2011, Quest has backed over 50 regional startups through its first fund, including Carousell, ShopBack and SGAG. The first fund was invested out of the personal capital of Quest’s managing partner James Tan, a former entrepreneur who co-founded Chinese e-commerce firm 55tuan.
With its second fund, Quest will target not just South-east Asian startups, but also those in emerging Asian markets, at the post-seed and Series A stages. It will launch an accelerator in Kazakhstan to “jumpstart the region’s digital economy”.
Adil Nurgozhin, chairman of the board of directors at QazTech, said that his firm’s investment in Quest is “an important step in bringing together the innovative ecosystems of South-east Asia and Central Asia”.
“This partnership with Quest Ventures and Pavilion Capital will enable Kazakh startups to secure important investments, improve competencies, and gain access to global markets,” said Mr Nurgozhin in a press release.
By working with Quest, Pavilion hopes to “play an important role in the venture capital ecosystem here”, added Tow Heng Tan, chief executive of Pavilion.
