Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India Promotes Kanika Mayar and Puiyan Leung to Partners

SINGAPORE, 15 June 2022 – Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India (VVSEAI), the leading global venture capital firm in Southeast Asia and India, is pleased to announce the promotions of Pui Yan Leung and Kanika Mayar, to Partners.

Based in Singapore, Pui Yan joined VVSEAI two years ago and has strong expertise in the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) fields, as well as a track record of leading deals across the enterprise software, blockchain, creator economy and consumer sectors.

Based in India, Kanika has been with VVSEAI since 2020 and is one of the few senior female investment professionals in the country across more than 500 venture capital funds. She has led deals across sectors such as agritech, business to business (B2B), consumer and health tech.

“Both Pui Yan and Kanika are purpose-driven investment professionals with extensive experience in investing and working with start-up founders. They have made significant contributions to VVSEAI and have constantly provided valuable insights and perspectives to our deal decisions. I am proud that they have proven themselves as capable leaders and deal champions,” said Joo Hock Chua, Managing Partner at VVSEAI.

Joo Hock further added, “I am happy to note that half of our investment team comprises female colleagues. We have always been gender neutral in hiring as we believe in bringing in the best talent to build an enduring organisation.  We provide opportunities for them to grow and become future generation leaders to lead VVSEAI. The promotion of Pui Yan and Kanika to Partners is a testament to that.”

VVSEAI is a leading early stage VC firm that invests across Southeast Asia and India. VVSEAI has a strong record of working closely with start-ups to build global champions including Grab, Patsnap, Nium, Licious, FirstCry and others.  Headquartered in Singapore, we have local investment teams in Bangalore, Jakarta and Bangkok.  Some of our recent investments include Aruna, SCB Abacus, Ayu Health,Kapiva, Dedoco, Tiptip, DailyBox, Signzy and others.

For more information about VVSEAI, please visit https://www.vertexventures.sg/.

About Pui Yan Leung

Prior to joining VVSEAI, Pui Yan was an Investment Director at Singtel Innov8, the corporate VC (CVC) arm of Singtel. She assumed a range of operating roles, including business development, product marketing, strategy, and once served as Singtel’s Indonesia-based lead in representing the local market development interests for Singtel’s digital portfolio.

Pui Yan is a Kauffman Fellow and graduated with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering Degree from the National University of Singapore.

About Kanika Mayar

Prior to joining VVSEAI, Kanika was an Investment Officer with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) where she focused on investing in technology, telecom, renewable energy and infrastructure companies across India and South Asia. Before IFC, Kanika was with Goldman Sachs’s Investment Banking team covering transactions in natural resources in Europe.

Kanika holds a Bachelor in Economics from the Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

About Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India

Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India invests in high-growth startups seeking their first round of institutional venture capital funding in Southeast Asia and India. It has a long and strong track record of investing in early-stage startups and building global champions.

For more information, please visit https://www.vertexventures.sg.

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