Azione Capital

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Coordinates: 1°19′58.89″N 103°54′7.38″E / 1.333025°N 103.90205°E / 1.333025; 103.90205

Azione Capital Pte Ltd
Type Private Limited (RCB Number: 200619477H)
Industry Private Equity
Founded 2006
Founder(s) Nicholas Chan
Headquarters Singapore
Area served Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China
Key people Nicholas Chan (Singapore/Malaysia)
Soon Choo Teck (China)
Lee Keh Sai
Dennis Phua (Singapore)
Services Startup Business Incubation
Website http://www.azionecapital.com/

Azione Capital Pte Ltd is a venture capital firm based in Singapore[1][2], and focuses on early stage investments in the Digital Media, Cleantech, and Social Economy sectors as well as the Telecommunication and Maritime industries. The portfolio companies are geared towards Asian markets and beyond.

Azione Capital manages one of three initially approved business incubators (ten as at 2009) of the IDM Research and Development Programme Office under the Media Development Authority of Singapore[3].

Contents

[edit] History

“ Entrepreneurs who emphasise on their fancy education, hundreds of pages proposals, talkers-not-doers and trend-followers are filtered out right at the start. ”

—– Nicholas Chan
Executive Director of Azione Capital
Today, Business Section[4]
6 August 2008

In November 2006, an official from the recently formed Interactive Digital Media Programme Office of the Media Development Authority of Singapore, made contact with Project:Senso Ltd. to explore the possibility of working to assist new startups. The result was the formation of a separate, for-profit, and full-time production entity. By early December 2006, the initial structuring of the business entity was complete and it was named Azione Capital Pte Ltd.

Early in 2007, Azione Capital Pte Ltd, along with more than 30 other partners, officially declared their support for the four new initiatives[5] of the Media Development Authority, Interactive Digital Media R&D Programme Office at the inaugural IDM Jamboree held in the Singapore Science Centre[6].

In May 2007, the Media Development Authority of Singapore announced the launch of the Microfunding Scheme and the official appointment of three mentors,[7] Azione Capital Pte Ltd being one of them.

[edit] Timeline

  • November 3, 2006 - Initial contact from Media Development Authority, Interactive Digital Media R&D Programme Office.
  • December 29, 2006 - Officially incorporated in the Republic of Singapore as a Company limited by shares.
  • January 10, 2007 - Declaration of support at the inaugural IDM Jamboree held in the Singapore Science Centre.
  • May 25, 2007 - Press conference for the launch of the MDA Microfinancing Scheme and 1st i.Jam Evening held in the MICA Building Atrium.
  • July 26, 2007 - 2nd i.Jam Evening held in the MICA Building Atrium.[8]
  • July 30, 2007 - Invited to be part of the i.Jam Council.
  • August 8, 2007 - Signing of working agreement between Azione Capital Pte Ltd and Media Development Authority of Singapore.
  • November 19, 2007 - Appointed as Singapore Commercialization Partner to Cradle Investment Programme (Malaysia), which provides conditional grants of up to RM$150,000.[9]

[edit] Methodology

“ For Asia, it's generally about the speed to market--you can't count on patents to protect your product or service. ”

—– Dennis Phua
Senior Associate of Azione Capital
ZDNet Asia, Business Section[10]
6 October 2009

Nicholas Chan, the founder of Azione Capital[11] repeatedly emphasized on the firm's stance on entrepreneurs starting up early with a clear purpose [12][13], with the expectations of startups to be frugal[14], ethical while having a low tolerance to trends-and-buzzwords-chasers[15].

The working methodology of Azione Capital[16] has been the subject of discussion in various public discussions and forums[17][18]. Azione Capital has contributed insights into the Singapore startup scene via a quarterly Venture Capital editorial column in the MyVenture magazine[19][20] and on the venture capital environment in Asia[21][22].

[edit] Management team

[edit] Board of directors

  • Nicholas Chan[23][24][25], Executive Director of Azione Capital Pte Ltd
  • Soon Choo Teck, Chairman and CEO of Sim Lim Company Pte Ltd
  • Lee Keh Sai, President (retired) of K.S.Lee & Associates (Asia) Pte Ltd (A Schneider Electric company)

[edit] Executive Management

  • Dennis Phua[10][26][27][28][29], Director of Operations, Managing Director of Learning Street Private Limited

[edit] Associates

  • Peter Tan[30], Senior Associate, CEO of Freedom Group Pte Ltd
  • Terence Poon, Associate, CEO of Tech Support Singapore Pte Ltd
  • Ho Mingxiu, Associate
  • Janice Yip, Associate

[edit] Board of Advisors

[edit] Portfolio Startups

These are the portfolio startups that have been publicly announced (as at October 2008) under the care of Azione Capital Pte Ltd.

On 7 January 2009, Nicholas Chan expressed that Azione Capital would not actively explore the biotechnology sector for investment opportunities.[31]

Name Industry Website Entered Exited Status
LocAsian Networks[8][27] Mobile LBS Infrastructure Provider www.locasian.net March 20, 2007 NA Research & Development, beta testing, foreign expansion
Who Works Around You Pte Ltd[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] Location Based Dating www.whoworksaroundyou.com January 30, 2007 October 3, 2007 Operational, foreign expansion
Hibernator[40][41][42] Internet-based system state hibernation www.hibernater.com August 15, 2007 NA Research & Development, limited beta launch
Events Core Events Management Engine October 15, 2007 NA Operational
MyWobile (f.k.a. MobileWorld)[27][43][44][45][46] Location Based Gaming Platform www.mywobile.com November 18, 2007 NA Research & Development, limited beta launch, foreign expansion
e994[47][48] Location Based Emergency Services www.e994.com November 19, 2007 NA Research & Development, foreign expansion
RenoPortal Online Portal February 24, 2008 NA Stealth mode
Talenz Crowdsourced Market Research June 29, 2008 NA Research & Development
Fusion-Ads Mobile Advertising and Analytics Platform July 16, 2008 NA Research & Development
GameMo[49][50][51][52][53][54] Secure Mobile Content Distribution www.gamemo.mobi September 13, 2008 NA Research & Development, limited beta launch

[edit] Corporate Social Responsibility

On July 27, 2007, Azione Capital silently launched the Help Humanity Project[55] (in partnership with the World Community Grid) within its portfolio startup companies as a simple way to introduce the budding entrepreneurs into incorporating corporate social responsibility initiatives within their startups and encouraging them to further develop their own corporate social responsibility programmes in the future.

On March 23, 2009, Azione Capital silently pledged support to the MalFreeMaps community by providing a Singapore mirror for the weekly community-created GPS maps of Singapore and Malaysia in recognition of the project team's ethical behavior and integrity in the running of a community-driven non-profit project in Asia.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Expara Pte. Ltd & The Media Development Authority of Singapore (2009). Media Entrepreneur's Guide to Singapore 2009 edition p.90.
  2. ^ Bodine, Paul (November 2008). Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance. The McGraw-Hill Companies. p.26. ISBN 007-159-820-0
  3. ^ News Release (25 May 2007) MDA administers new Microfunding Scheme to stimulate bottom-up innovation in IDM, accessed June 2010
  4. ^ Fung, Esther. (06 August 2008) "It’s not just about funds", Today, MediaCorp
  5. ^ News Release (10 January 2007) Speech by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community,Youth and Sports and Second Minister for Information,Communications and the Arts at the IDM Jamboree on 10 January 2007, 10.15am at the Singapore Science Centre, News release accessed October 2007PDF (27.86 KiB)
  6. ^ News Release (10 January 2007) IDM R&D Programme Office unfolds four initiatives to support R&D needs in IDM sector, News release accessed October 2007
  7. ^ i.BITS May 2007: Launch of Micro-Funding initiative for Individuals
  8. ^ a b i.BITS July 2007: i.JAMMING @ MICA Building Atrium
  9. ^ "Cradle's Entrepreneurs Pitch Ideas To Local And Global Investors", Bernama, 17 March 2008
  10. ^ a b [http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/business/0,39044229,62058370,00.htm Yeo, Vivian. (06 October 2009) "Asian tech startups still worthwhile investments", ZDNet Asia, Ziff Davis Publishing Company
  11. ^ The Hyper Team @ Venture Hype (15 May 2009) "Interview with VC Nicholas Chan Part I: From Entrepreneur to Venture Capitalist", Venture Hype Corporation
  12. ^ Yong, Debbie and Huang Huifen. (27 January 2009) "Giving teen entrepreneurs an early start", The Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings
  13. ^ Liew, Wayne (17 July 2009) "10 Entrepreneurship Lessons Venture Capitalist Nicholas Chan Taught Me (Part 1)", Wayne Liew Dot Com
  14. ^ Goh, Daniel. (21 October 2008). "How Would You Invest S$10,000?"
  15. ^ Lim, Cristyano. (17 November 2008). "Featured Startup: Azione Capital Pte Ltd"
  16. ^ The Hyper Team @ Venture Hype (22 May 2009) "Interview with VC Nicholas Chan Part II: Identifying Winners", Venture Hype Corporation
  17. ^ News Release (05 February 2009) "BizAsia Entrepreneurial Exchange Programme 2009"
  18. ^ Loh, Justin (26 February 2008) "Business Forum @ SMU"
  19. ^ MyVenture (Volume 1, March 2008). What do VCs look for in a start up? Must Read Publications Pte Ltd. p.20. ISSN 1793-6241.
  20. ^ MyVenture (Volume 2, June 2008). What do VCs look for in a start up part 2. Must Read Publications Pte Ltd. p.20. ISSN 1793-6241.
  21. ^ Goh, Daniel. (20 April 2009) "Relationship 101 for Startups: Guanxi Matters"
  22. ^ Cameron, Nicholas. (24 August 2009) "#15 Nicholas Chan, Singapore Venture Capitalist"
  23. ^ Lai, Kar Wai. (19 March 2005) "Spirit of Enterprise 2005 nomination interview for Chan Chiang Joo, Nicholas"
  24. ^ The Brotherhood. (28 January 2009) "Nicholas Chan"
  25. ^ Ng, Tiao Kien and Tan, Yan Jun Joy. (10 November 2009) "Voices of the Future - APEC Singapore 2009 - Day 2 interview"
  26. ^ News Release (28 July 2009) Sun Microsystems to Crown Regional Open Jive Champions
  27. ^ a b c Yeo, Vivian. (30 July 2009) "Investors still keen on Asian tech startups". ZDNet, CBS Interactive
  28. ^ Tan, Chong Yaw. (5 August 2009) "Virtual shopping made better". Straits Times Interactive, Singapore Press Holdings
  29. ^ Tan, Chong Yaw. (5 August 2009) "Virtual shopping made better". Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings Digital Life p.20.
  30. ^ Wang, Jierui Joanne. (03/19/2005) "Spirit of Enterprise 2005 nomination interview for Peter Tan"
  31. ^ Fung, Esther. (07 January 2009) "Biotech firms feel the chill", Today, MediaCorp
  32. ^ BlogTV.SG Episode 3: The Baby Crisis, Phin and FD. (15 September 2008)
  33. ^ 9:00 News (29 March 2007), Dating agencies get funding to broaden services for singles, Channel U, MediaCorp
  34. ^ Singapore Tonight (29 March 2007), Dating agencies get funding to broaden services for singles, Channel NewsAsia, MediaCorp
  35. ^ 林佩碧, 四个"创意红娘" 获红线基金拔14万元 (30 March 2007) Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore Press Holdings p.15.
  36. ^ Ng, Kai Ling. (30 March 2007) "Need help to find a date? Call us". Straits Times Interactive Video News, Singapore Press Holdings
  37. ^ Loh, Chee Kong. (30 March 2007) "Cupid just a click away". Today, MediaCorp
  38. ^ Loh, Chee Kong. (30 March 2007) "Cupid just a click away". Channel NewsAsia, MediaCorp
  39. ^ @1.45 (04 April 2007), Interview with Nicholas Chan on Who Works Around You Pte Ltd, 938LIVE, MediaCorp Radio
  40. ^ News Release (2008) SCE Students Design Practical Software Solution, accessed December 2008
  41. ^ Fung, Esther. (29 August 2008) "In a hurry? Bring on the Hibernater", Today, MediaCorp
  42. ^ Fung, Esther. (29 August 2008) "In a hurry? Bring on the Hibernater", Channel NewsAsia
  43. ^ Goh, Daniel. (15 December 2008) "Singapore Location-Based Mobile Service MyWobile.com Announces Beta"
  44. ^ City Beats, 梁凯欣, (02/16/2009) "低迷就业市场 大学毕业生创业", 新动网
  45. ^ News Release (August 2009) SCE Trio Make Headlines
  46. ^ Cameron, Nicholas. (24 August 2009) "#16, Cris Lim - MyWobile"
  47. ^ Tan, Weizhen, (13 June 2009) "Dot.coms riding a new wave", Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings p.B2.
  48. ^ Tan, Weizhen. (13 June 2009) "Dot.coms riding a new wave". Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings
  49. ^ Supian, Hedirman. (21 November 2008) "Startups line up for Microsoft aid". Today, MediaCorp p.B2
  50. ^ (21 November 2008) "12 家起步公司，参加微软BizSpark计划". Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore Press Holdings p.27.
  51. ^ Channel NewsAsia, Money Mind Episode 41, 11 January 2009
  52. ^ Goh, Daniel. (15 June 2009) "TheMobileGamer: Trying Games On The Go"
  53. ^ Goh, Daniel. (17 June 2009) "Four Singapore Startups Enter Global Business Plan Competition by DFJ and Cisco"
  54. ^ Goh, Daniel. (20 June 2009) "Singapore Startups At CommunicAsia 2009"
  55. ^ Team Azione Capital page on the World Community Grid

[edit] External links


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