1 hr 7 min
Rising Giants - N.20 Bora Kem, Partner, Mekong Strategic Partners, Investor, Smart Axiata Digital Innovation Fund Rising Giants
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- Entrepreneurship
In this week's podcast, we are joined by a very special guest, Bora Kem. He is one of the key names in the investment community in Cambodia, currently directing the Smart Axiata Digital Innovation Fund (SADIF), a $5m fund dedicated to investing in early-stage technology ventures in the country with a total of 10 portfolio companies. Bora has led SADIF in investing in some of the most innovative companies in the country over the last 5 years, including super app Nham24, fintech players Bahnji and Morakot as well as logistics firms Joonak and DRVR.
Bora grew up in the USA, receiving an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, and working for many investment groups including Putnam Investments, Rocket Internet, and Equilibrium Capital before returning to Cambodia full-time in 2016.
What we get into:
- Red & green flags to spot when evaluating whether to invest in early-stage founders
- Who the new breed of investors are in Cambodia VC; young CEO's that understand innovation is an essential part of any business plan
- The importance of taking 'thinking weeks' to decompress and realign your motivation amidst turbulent times
If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more about the startup and venture capital ecosystem in Southeast Asia, subscribe to our free Rising Giants Substack newsletter linked in the show docs. Each week we highlight a recap of the episode, job opportunities, entrepreneur resources, and links we like, as well as notable VC deal flow and startup news from every country in the region.
Rising Giants Newsletter
Rising Giants Website
In this week's podcast, we are joined by a very special guest, Bora Kem. He is one of the key names in the investment community in Cambodia, currently directing the Smart Axiata Digital Innovation Fund (SADIF), a $5m fund dedicated to investing in early-stage technology ventures in the country with a total of 10 portfolio companies. Bora has led SADIF in investing in some of the most innovative companies in the country over the last 5 years, including super app Nham24, fintech players Bahnji and Morakot as well as logistics firms Joonak and DRVR.
Bora grew up in the USA, receiving an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, and working for many investment groups including Putnam Investments, Rocket Internet, and Equilibrium Capital before returning to Cambodia full-time in 2016.
What we get into:
- Red & green flags to spot when evaluating whether to invest in early-stage founders
- Who the new breed of investors are in Cambodia VC; young CEO's that understand innovation is an essential part of any business plan
- The importance of taking 'thinking weeks' to decompress and realign your motivation amidst turbulent times
If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more about the startup and venture capital ecosystem in Southeast Asia, subscribe to our free Rising Giants Substack newsletter linked in the show docs. Each week we highlight a recap of the episode, job opportunities, entrepreneur resources, and links we like, as well as notable VC deal flow and startup news from every country in the region.
Rising Giants Newsletter
Rising Giants Website
1 hr 7 min