Kopi Kenangan Coffee Chain Cofounder James Prananto Turns Venture Capitalist With $12 Million Maiden Fund

Forbes Asia Kopi Kenangan Coffee Chain Cofounder James Prananto Turns Venture Capitalist With $12 Million Maiden Fund Ardian Wibisono Forbes Staff I write about Asia’s business scene from Jakarta. Following Oct 24, 2023, 11:30pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin James Prananto (left) and Fandy Cendrajaya, founding partners of Kopital Ventures. Kopital Ventures James Prananto , cofounder of Indonesian unicorn coffee chain Kopi Kenangan, is foraying into venture capital (VC) with the closing of a $12 million fund by the recently established Kopital Ventures.

Cofounded by Prananto and angel investor Fandy Cendrajaya in partnership with Singapore-based Farquhar Venture Capital, Kopital said in a statement that it aims to focus on early stage startups across Southeast Asia and use its maiden fund to invest in 30 to 40 companies within the next three years. Kopital says it is backed by international investors and family offices such as Saison Capital, 500 Global, Trihill Capital, Alto Partners Multi-Family Office, and Impack Ventures, which is part of Indonesian billionaire Haryanto Tjiptodihardjo ‘s family business run by his son Phillip. The VC firm is an offshoot of Kopital Network, an informal group of angel investors in Indonesia that Pranato and Cendrajaya formed in 2021.

The duo later decided to leverage their track record and experience to form Kopital Ventures, which Christian Sutardi—an early investor in Kopi Kenangan—joined as a venture partner. Members of Kopital Network invested in various startups such as beauty care brand Somethinc, fintech firm Durianpay and waste management company Rekosistem, among others, and these investments are now regarded as part of Kopital Ventures’ portfolio, having received subsequent investments from the VC firm, according to founding partner Cendrajaya . “Fandy and I thought we would be able to add more value to the next generation of founders by setting up a venture capital firm alongside the angel network,” Prananto—a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia listee—said in a statement.

“I felt that my experience as the founder of Kopi Kenangan and Fandy’s network in the tech ecosystem could be very valuable assets for early stage founders. ” Prananto cofounded Kopi Kenangan in 2017 with Edward Tirtanata. The company became a unicorn in December 2021, following a $96 million Series C funding round that valued the company at more than $1 billion.

The coffee chain has expanded its business offering beyond coffee to include snacks and bakery products, and recently opened its second international outlet in Singapore following its maiden overseas foray into Malaysia last year. However, Kopi Kenangan and Kopital Ventures are independent entities. MORE FOR YOU Louisiana’s Richest Person Bets Big On The Gulf South Why VC Firm General Catalyst Wants To Spend Billions To Buy A Hospital System Human Capital Australia s Newest Unicorn Is This HR Startup Prananto and Cendrajaya initially sought to raise only $5 million, but were able to more than double its size by attracting strategic investors from global VCs and family offices.

It plans to invest in early-stage startups with ticket sizes between $50,000 and $300,000, according to Cendrajaya. “Kopital Ventures’ role as an investor is not only in injecting funds into target companies but also in connecting early-stage founders with mentors who are leaders in their respective fields and access to global and regional investors for later-stage funding,” Cendrajaya said in the statement. “We hope to be the first investors in the next wave of unicorns.

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