On air to share

• You may have heard, seen or read the 500 Global Rise Report, which presents new ways of measuring and understanding the ever-changing world of technology to uncover overlooked investment opportunities that can uplift people and economies around the world.
• When our team first conceived The Rise Report, we had just one idea in mind. “Many people we meet in the investment community and at large are surprised by how global the tech world has become,” shares Khailee Ng, Managing Partner, 500 Global. ”We also wanted to share that beyond the US and China, there are many countries that are actively part of our global economy, and it’s a missed opportunity if we don’t get involved.”
• How global are tech startups and companies exactly? In 2022, there are 55 countries with at least one company valued at over US$1 billion, and 130 countries in the world have active startup venture capital investment activity.
• Coming back closer to home, where are the high growth areas for Southeast Asia? Khailee shares that agritech companies are fast growing to strengthen food security, increase locally produced protein, enhance farming productivity, and elevate the lives of the next generation in farming communities.
• ‘Rural Digitalization’ is another high growth trend as 3 billion new internet users are projected to come online across the world by 2040, many from non-urban areas.
• Khailee believes it’s important we have and invest in a new generation of entrepreneurs with new context to know what to build for the rest of the world; not being a fish farmer himself, he would never have thought to build 500-backed aquaculture company eFishery for instance.
• How will 500 Global support this new generation of founders? Khailee shares that way beyond giving capital, 500-backed founders truly value being in the company of other founders who’ve done it before, who are like them, but at later stages of their entrepreneurial journey. “We were early investors in Carsome, Grab, Carousell, Bukalapak, eFishery – all these unicorns and public-listed companies, that’s the community you’re gonna be a part of.” Our team also provides direct support to help portfolio companies fundraise, align their business strategy for exponential growth, and scale in cost-efficient ways.
• What’s a key lesson Khailee has learned from a decade of investing? “It’s easy to find a good idea, but it’s a bit harder to find a big idea. Not all good ideas or big ideas, and showing traction at the investment stage is less important than having a proven business model.”
• Right before heading out of the studio, Khailee shares why now is the best time in history to make an impact – “We are at a juncture in humanity’s evolution where technology is mainstream, people across ages from villages to cities are connected by technology, and are using it as weapons of productivity. Behind every single funding round, there’s millions of beneficiaries. So, if we can make this new economy the most inclusive economy the world has ever seen, that’s the job that we need to do.”
• Listen to the full interview on BFM.