Dato Sri Darren Yaw will form a new venture capital firm DDY Capital to invest in the burgeoning sector of Agritech and Foodtech
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - May 19, 2021 / / —
Property investor Dato Sri Darren Yaw will form a new venture capital firm DDY Capital to invest in the burgeoning sector of Agritech and Foodtech.
Dato Sri Darren Yaw’s DDY Capital will be based in Malaysia but will look to invest across the region especially in Singapore, Cambodia and Indonesia.
“I have long had an interest in food technology, and when COVID-19 hit, food security became a paramount issue. So I decided to take the plunge and DDY Capital was born,” said Dato Sri Darren Yaw at the launch.
The venture capital firm will be investing in early-stage companies, primarily Series A and early Series-B. According to Dato Sri Darren Yaw, the firm is backed by institutional investors and family offices based in Malaysia and Singapore. It is looking for entrepreneurs who use technology to improve food security for millions of people in the South East Asia region.
Led by Dato Sri Darren Yaw and his partners with experience in Silicon Valley, DDY Capital will provide access to its broad network as well as strategies for business growth and development. “We are entrepreneurs and founders ourselves, and we have a vast network across many fields such as biotech, agriculture, and data science that will be invaluable to founders as they scale up,” he said.
“We are looking for passionate entrepreneurs who have the drive to achieve scale and change millions of lives in countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Cambodia,” said Dato Sri Darren Yaw.
In the South-East Asian region, Singapore is quickly emerging as a Foodtech hub with the full backing of the city-state’s government. It has attracted a number of start-ups from around the world who are drawn to its generous state support. With a lack of arable land and heavily dependent on food imports, the government has positioned the sector as a key industry, making sizable state-backed investments into R&D, sales and market entry. It has set a target of tripling its local food production to 30% by 2030.
Malaysian prospects are more nascent but fast growing. Agriculture is a very important GDP contributor coming in at third highest in 2019. The bulk of the sector consists of smallholder farmers who are the ones who will benefit most from increased efficiencies from technological advancements.
“I’m very excited about the possibilities for disruption in Malaysia and around the region. We are confident that the time is right to get into this space.” said Dato Sri Darren Yaw, adding that DDY Capital will be interested to invest in companies innovating in cell culture technology, biotech, farm management solutions, and smart farming.
Dato Sri Darren Yaw began to nurture their growing interest in sustainable food production with a small organic farm, Darren Yaw Greens in Johor, Malaysia in 2018. “Foodtech and Agritech have the potential to lighten the environmental impact of traditional food production practices. And we want to invest in companies that can capture future demand for services and products that are more efficient and sustainable,” he added.
Dato Sri Darren Yaw’s DDY Capital has investment teams on-the-ground in Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia with offices in Malaysia and Singapore. He first came to prominence as a property investor who made his fortune in Malaysian and Singaporean real estate.
Together with his wife, Darren Yaw established a property investment vehicle that invested heavily into Penang, Malaysia’s pre-war buildings that skyrocketed in price when the island’s capital was listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Dato Sri Darren Yaw and his wife then branched out into developing boutique residential properties through Darren Yaw Properties in the region.
Contact Info:
Name: DDY Capital
Email: Send Email
Organization: DDY Capital
Address: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Phone: -
Website: https://cgexperience.cloudpage.me/
Source:
Release ID: 89015734
