Kopital Ventures’ James Prananto (left) and Fandy Cendrajaya / Photo credit: Kopital Ventures

Kopital Ventures, a VC firm founded by James Prananto of coffee chain Kopi Kenangan alongside Fandy Cendrajaya, announced the first close of its maiden fund on Wednesday.

The oversubscribed fund raised US$12 million from various investors such as Saison Capital, Trihill Capital, Impack Ventures, and the Alto Partners multi-family office.

Prananto and Cendrajaya will be joined by Christian Sutardi, an angel investor and an early supporter of Kopi Kenangan, as a venture partner.

The fund is focused on early-stage startups across Southeast Asia, mainly in Indonesia, with a goal of investing in 30 to 40 companies within the next three years. Kopital Ventures said it wants to be the first investor in future unicorns from Indonesia.

The firm plans to offer not only capital to its portfolio companies, but also guidance, network, and support for later-stage funding from other investors, said Cendrajaya, who serves as a founding partner.

Prananto said the VC firm evolved from Kopital Network, an informal group of angel investors that the Kopi Kenangan co-founder and Cendrajaya started in 2022. Other members include executives from Number Capital, Boston Consulting Group Singapore, Ayoconnect, and Kudo.

The network has invested in several startups such as beauty brand Somethinc and payment gateway Durianpay.

Kopital Ventures was launched in collaboration with Farquhar VC, a Singapore-based venture capital firm focusing on Southeast Asia.

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