The Singapore government’s National Research Foundation (NRF) will pump in S$60 million (around $48 million) into 6 early stage venture capital funds under its ESVF (Early Stage Venture Fund). The 6 funds that will receive this capital are Jungle Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, SBI Ven Capital, Walden International, New Asia Investments and Monk’s Hill Ventures. Under the ESVF scheme, the NRF will invest S$10 million ($7.9 million) on a 1:1 matching basis making it a total capital pool of S$120 million (around $96 million). The scheme specifically targets seed stage venture capital funds that invest in Singapore based early stage high-tech companies. As an incentive, the venture capital firms have the option to buy out NRF’s share of the fund within five years by returning NRF’s capital with interest. The investment scope for the six funds selected in this round covers info-communication technologies, medical technologies, clean technologies and industrial applications. The NRF’s call for proposal in November last year received 32 proposals of which 18 were shortlisted. A final evaluation by an eight-member panel comprising public and private sector representatives appointed by NRF selected the final 6 proposals. “With a growing pipeline of exciting new tech startups in Singapore, founders will require funding, experienced mentorship and strong networks to build companies that can compete in worldwide markets. We want to help build an investor community based in Singapore but with connections around the world,” Steve Leonard, executive deputy chairman of Infocomm Development, who chaired the panel, said in a statement. The ESVF scheme was…
