Saemin Ahn Sees Southeast Asia Struggling to Attract Venture Capital

Saemin Ahn, managing partner for international investment at Rakuten Capital, expects Southeast Asia to struggle for investor attention for two to four years, citing the region’s company-building path and public-market results.

Ahn described conventional venture capital as a difficult fit for the region. Good startups get “a lot less oxygen,” he said.

He said companies may need a capital mix that combines equity with structured financing, including mezzanine or tranche financing, debt and credit.

Ahn said Rakuten Ventures began with an exclusive focus on Southeast Asia before broadening its geographic reach about three years later. Rakuten Capital launched in 2013 and has invested in more than 90 companies worldwide.

From 2014 through 2023, Southeast Asian startups received $94 billion in funding. Unicorns created during that period had a combined value of $121 billion as of the second quarter of 2024. China’s figures for the same period were $582 billion in funding and $1.402 trillion in unicorn value. The figures place capital raised alongside later valuations of unicorns formed during the period; they do not capture venture performance across every startup.