Online Event
Startup Funding in South Asia AMA
Learn the most effective tactics to raise your first round
Date
Aug 12, 2025
Time
09:30 am - 10:30 am
Address
Online Event
Do you want to understand the VC and startup investment trends in South Asia? Do you have a startup or company that needs funding now or in the future? Do you want to understand what some of the best investors, VCs, and organizations look for in the companies they fund? Do you want to learn how startup funding works, what you need to do before trying to raise funding, and where you can go to get it? Then join us for this interactive, online fundraising session where you can ask the questions, and receive practical advice. Learn expert tips, the pitfalls to avoid, and how equity works.
Panelists
- Kalsoom Lakhani: Kalsoom is a Kaufmann Fellow and the Co-founder & General Partner at i2i Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund in Pakistan. i2i Ventures has invested in Edkasa, CreditBook, Abhi, Oraan, Tazah, Truck it In, EZBike, Metric, DealCart, Safepay, Swag Kicks, Integry and more. Kalsoom is also the Founder of Invest2Innovate, to unleash the potential of young entrepreneurs in growth markets like Pakistan. She has has spoken at numerous venues, including the World Economic Forum, Aspen Ideas Festival, the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, and SXSW. In 2022, she was also selected for the RoW100, Rest of World's inaugural list of 100 Global Tech Changemakers.
- Amra Naidoo: Amra is the Co-Founder and General Partner at Accelerating Asia, an early stage venture capital fund investing in brave ideas to catalyse positive change. We identify startups with tech-based solutions, revenue and early traction in high-growth, underserved Southeast Asia and South Asia markets that fall in the seed-pre-series A funding gap. We invest and fast-track growth through our flagship Accelerating Asia program, the region's leading and award-winning accelerator. She is the host and creator of the Doing Good Podcast, and has been interviewed and featured as a guest author on industry blogs, including The Straits Times, Techcrunch, Reuters and named as one of Harpers Bazaar’s Women Who Inspire Others.
- Tanveer Ali: Tanveer is Chairman of Constellation Asset Management. He is among the earliest angel investors and startup ecosystem advocates in Bangladesh. With a portfolio of over 15 investments in Bangladesh and more than 60 globally, he has invested in or supported a wide array of Bangladeshi startups, including Pathao, Chaldal, ShopUp, Barikoi, ShareTrip, and Ridmik. He was an Executive Director at Olympic Industries, the largest biscuit manufacturer in Bangladesh, where he oversaw revenue growth from $7 million in 2007 to $260 million in 2023. He also led the launch of the company’s sustainability program and the implementation of SAP ERP. He has previously served on the Executive Council of VCPEAB (Venture Capital & Private Equity Association of Bangladesh), the Executive Committee of BAPLC (Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies), and the Investment Committee of BD Venture. Mr. Ali holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Waterloo, Canada, and a joint MBA from IE Business School, Spain, and Brown University, USA.
- Heminda Jayaweera: Heminda Jayaweera is an Eisenhower Fellow and Executive Director for Trace, which recently launched a grant program to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. He is also the Founder of Venture Frontier Lanka. He is a serial entrepreneur from Sri Lanka focusing on IoT, biomedical and green tech including. He is the Co-founder for Jendo Innovations, 3H Innovations, Thuru, and ZeroTrash. He was the Chief Operating Officer for Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC). He is a member of the Steering Council for the National Innovation Agency. He was the IFS Endowed Senior Fellow for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Moratuwa. He has an MBA in Management of Technology and BSc in Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Moratuwa.
- Preeti Adhikary: Preeti is a General Partner of Momo VC [https://momo-vc.com/], a US-based early stage venture capital fund created to support underrepresented founders. She has 20 years of diverse experience in tech startups, banking, and nonprofits. She is also the Founder of The Great Nepali Diaspora [https://www.thegreatnepalidiaspora.org/], a non-profit community of exceptional global Nepali talent that aims to nurture connection, collaboration, and camaraderie. She has a Master of Advanced Management from Yale School of Management and an MBA from the University of British Columbia. Previously, she was the VP of Marketing/Operations of Fusemachines Inc. in New York, which was be one of the first companies with a Nepali founder to go public on NASDAQ in 2024.
What You'll Learn:
- What type of companies to investors and VCs fund in South Asia? What are relevant verticals and trends?
- What's the best way to approach potential investors and VCs?
- Key metrics and pre-requisites for raising funding. Are you ready to raise funds/investment
- How to make yourself more attractive to investors
- The best ways to source different funding resources such as Angel investors, Venture Capitalists, grants and loans
Additional Resources:
Find more Startup Events, learn about Funding Benchmarks and Milestones, or visit our Insights Blog for more startup tips.
About Founder Institute:
The Founder Institute is one of the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and growth stage startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 7,000 entrepreneurs raise over $1.75BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
The Founder Institute is one of the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and growth stage startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 7,000 entrepreneurs raise over $1.75BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
Speakers
Platinum Partners
Local Partners
Google
Linkedin
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The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 8,100 entrepreneurs raise over $1.9BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
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