Nay Min Thu, the founder of property web portal iMyanmarHouse.com, will launch a venture capital (VC) fund for local tech startups, with the fist round of funding to begin next year.
The fund, Myanmar Tech Ventures, is in the process of securing financing from a “range of local investors” and is targeting an initial fund size of $5 million, Nay Min Thu told Myanmar Business Today.
Myanmar Tech Ventures, which has been in development for about a year, will provide 5 to 6-digit ticket sizes and plans to invest in 5 to 10 startups per year, he said.
“We are going to invest mostly in technology based startup companies in Myanmar… For the time being we will look at mostly software based or customer based companies.”
“For hardware companies I don’t think we have the capability to go for manufacturing in Myanmar, so we won’t be looking at hardware companies.”
At the moment, there is a lack of funding for the country’s local tech startups, said Nay Min Thu.
Myanmar Tech Venture will join the handful of VC and investment firms active in Myanmar.
“I believe there’s potential for technology based companies in Myanmar to grow, I think it (VC funds) are really necessary.”
In the past, Nay Min Thu has provided capital for several local startups including a $40,000 investment in B2B trading platform Bagan Hub as well as an undisclosed amounts in ride-hailing app Hello Cabs and online shopping site 365Myanmar.com.
Last month online food delivery service Food2U, of which Nay Min Thu is a major investor, secured a six-figure amount bringing the total value of the company to $1.5 million.
Source: Myanmar Business Today
