Venture capital firms, startups gather in BGC

Southeast Asia-focused venture capital firm TNB Aura last month hosted a mixer in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, bringing together possible investors and startups in the Philippines.

Dubbed as VC Socials, the gathering brought together officials from TNB Aura and GMA Ventures Inc., the investment arm of GMA Network Inc., funds, and startups across different industries in the country.

“We run this program around the region — Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It allows us to touch base and get the specific VC communities together,” TNB Aura co-founder and managing partner Vicknesh Pillay said.

“As a regional VC fund that’s starting to build its footprint in the Philippines, we really want to do our part in building up the ecosystem supporting the startups here, and connecting with other players in the space,” TNB Aura managing partner and head of Philippines David Bonifacio said.

TNB Aura, which describes itself as a “sector-agnostic” venture capital firm based in Singapore, has partnered with GMA Ventures Inc. to invest in startups in the healthcare sector, with more deals on the horizon.

The two parties last month signed a partnership agreement with Hofer Development Company (HDC), a house-of-brands company operating under the brand RockMedical and develops over-the-counter products under the healthcare category.

“GMA has a long partnership with TNB Aura. GMA, everyone knows, is a large media group but they’re also very strategic and they invest in other things,” Bonifacio said.

“I think you can expect a couple more deals next year that we’ll both do together. Hopefully a lot more deals,” he added.

Bonifacio, along with GMA Ventures Inc. president and chief operating officer Regie Bautista, also spoke in a panel discussion with RockMedical founder Jeff Hofer during the social gathering.

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