Q3 2023 Industry Data & Analysis

#GPCAResearch

GPCA’s Q3 2023 Industry Data & Analysis, featuring in-depth data, commentary and analysis on key trends across global markets, is now available as a benefit for GPCA Members.

Key data takeaways: 

Private capital investment in GPCA markets – including Asia, Latin America, Africa, CEE and the Middle East – fell to USD19.7b in Q3 2023, continuing the broader market slowdown seen over the past 18 months. 

• While private equity (PE) deal value shows signs of stabilizing, market uncertainty and valuation adjustments continue to depress activity in the venture capital (VC) ecosystem. VCs have deployed USD28.3b in GPCA markets so far in 2023, a decline of 63% compared to Q1-Q3 2022. 
• The decline in VC, previously concentrated in late-stage rounds, has also spread to seed and early-stage investment activity. Overall VC funding declined to USD8.7b in Q3 2023, its lowest point since Q1 2017. 
• CEE emerged as the sole GPCA market in Q3 2023 with a significant quarterly increase in private capital deal value, driven by new rounds for Lithuania-based software companies: PVcase and Nord Security each raised USD100m from investors including Highland Europe, Burda Principal Investments and Warburg Pincus. Horizon Capital also led a USD70m Series C extension for Preply, a Ukrainian-founded language learning platform, in CEE’s only disclosed late-stage VC transaction of 2023. 

For questions and feedback or to request custom data cuts from the research team – including GPCA’s complete fund- and deal-level dataset – contact research@gpcapital.org.

Openspace Ventures | Kumu

GPCA Deal Book: Inclusive & Sustainable Growth

#DealCases

In August 2019, Openspace invested in Kumu, a Philippines-based livestreaming company that is the first fully interactive social entertainment app in the country. The platform allows creators to stream content to audiences and monetize their work through virtual ‘gifts’ from viewers. 

With Openspace's support, Kumu integrated an AI-driven content moderation solution that detects violence, solicitations, bullying and other hateful content. The content team has put extra focus on monitoring and addressing unwanted attention received by creators, especially women. Kumu’s ‘gifting’ model provided a source of income for its 1.3m content creators, particularly when traditional segments of the economy shut down during COVID-19 lockdowns. The number of financially successful creators in 2021 reached 15,000, about half of which are female, from just 280 in 2019.

Co-Investment Funds and Sponsor Fiduciary Duties Under the US Advisers Act 

#LegalandRegulatory

As the volume of co-investments continues to increase exponentially, with more investors taking positions in blind pool funds with the principal goal of obtaining co-investment allocations (which frequently far exceed such investors’ blind pool commitments), it is critical to assess whether the protections afforded to investors when investing in blind pool funds also apply to their investments in co-investment funds.

Read more on co-investments and sponsor fiduciary duties in this article from GPCA Members DLA Piper and White & Case.

INVESTMENTS

► Saudi Arabia-based BNPL platform Tamara raised an additional USD250m in debt financing, including USD200m of senior debt from Goldman Sachs and a USD50m mezzanine tranche led by Shorooq Partners. Tamara previously raised USD150m from Goldman Sachs last March. #MiddleEast

► Riverwood Capital led a USD32.5m Series B for Logcomex, a Brazil-based international trade management platform, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst and follow-on from Alexia Ventures, Igah Ventures, Spectra Investments and Caravela Capital. #LatinAmerica 

► CSquared, a Kenya-based broadband infrastructure company, raised USD25m from Convergence Partners, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the International Development Association (IDA). #Africa

► KASZEK led a USD15m round for GoPass, a Colombia-based integrated payments platform for toll booths, gas stations and towing services. #LatinAmerica

► HongShan invested in a ~CNY100m (~USD13.8m) Series B for DataBeyond, a China-based developer of AI-powered sorting robots for waste recycling. #Asia

► New Enterprise Associates led a USD10m seed round for LXA, a Singapore-based mortgage asset manager, with participation from Openspace Ventures and EDBI. #Asia

► Pakistan-based grocery delivery platform Krave Mart raised a USD6.25m round from Y Combinator, Keisuke Honda, JAM Fund, Rebel Fund and Decart Ventures, as well as follow-on from Conjunction Capital and Zayn Capital. #Asia

► Rakiza, a fund managed by Oman Infrastructure Investment Management and Equitix, acquired a 39% equity stake in Oman-based fiber infrastructure provider Oman Broadband from ITHCA Group. #MiddleEast

► Invenio Partners and Accession Capital Partners acquired the vocational education unit of Link Group, a Serbia-based professional education and certification provider in IT and contemporary business. #CEE

FUNDRAISING

► Riverwood Capital reached a USD1.8b final close for Riverwood Capital Partners IV, its fourth growth fund to invest in scale-up tech-enabled companies across the US and Latin America. #LatinAmerica

► NXTP Ventures reached a USD98m final close for its third flagship fund to invest in B2B software startups in Latin America. #LatinAmerica

► Aera VC reached a USD50m final close for its climate fund focused on industrial decarbonization in Asia. #Asia

GPCA Southeast Asia Members Meeting & Holiday Reception

5 December 2023
1880 Singapore

GPC Conference 2024

25-27 March 2024

Conrad Downtown New York

Industry Events

Women's Private Capital Summit 2023

30 November - 1 December 2023

Convene, New York City

Interested GPCA Members may use the discount code "GPCA10".

SuperReturn Africa

4-6 December 2023

The Westin Cape Town

Interested GPCA Members may use the discount code "FKR2642GPCA".

GPCA Data & Intelligence