Regional venture capital firm Gobi Partners received two Awards from the Malaysia Venture Capital Association last night in a ceremony at the Association’s Annual Dinner, which was held at Sime Darby Convention Center.

Gobi picked up the coveted “Exit of the Year” Award at the event for its successful full exit from Hermo, which was acquired by listed Japanese company istyle in May of last year; Gobi received an IRR (internal rate of return) of 91%. Hermo is a Johor-Bahru based beauty e-commerce website that was founded by Ian Chua and PS Chong. It is Malaysia’s top online beauty platform, dedicated to helping women beautify themselves through its selection of convenient and affordable cosmetics products. The company’s website allows users to discover high quality beauty products at great prices from renowned international brands, while also offering fashion insights and beauty tips. Hermo partners directly with brand owners and distributors, establishing flagship brand stores on their platform and maximizing benefits for both brands and consumers.

The second award the firm received was the “Funds Raised in 2017” Award, due to the successful first close of its Meranti ASEAN Growth Fund (MAGF) at $50 M, which was announced in August of last year at a press conference in Singapore. The MAGF, which has a target size of $200 M, is aimed at investments in the Series B and C rounds of Southeast Asian innovation and tech-related (IT) companies, with a particular focus on Cloud services, E-commerce, FinTech (specifically targeting the unbanked market and the next billion consumers), as well as TaqwaTech (high tech companies that serve and empower Muslim communities). The Fund currently has 4 companies in its portfolio: Carsome, ASEAN’s largest C2B second-hand car auction platform;Goquo, provider of a full-service e-commerce solution for airlines and OTAs; Julo, a provider of affordable unsecured private loans (KTAs) for smartphone users; and Sale Stock, a fast fashion e-commerce platform that utilizes AI in their application.

“We are grateful and honored to have received these awards from the MVCA, and we believe that this happy occasion only serves to showcase our commitment to the entrepreneurial scene in this region,” said Khairul Khairi, Partner for the MAGF. “The Meranti ASEAN Growth Fund was established to create more funding opportunities for ASEAN’s growth-stage startups, which have previously found it difficult to grow due to the dearth of funding vehicles aimed at their stage of development. Gobi is confident that with our extensive investment experience in China and our 8-year presence in Southeast Asia, we will be able to continue helping the region’s entrepreneurs on their path to success.”

Gobi previously won the “Funds Raised in 2015” Award from the MVCA in 2016 for their Gobi MAVCAP ASEAN SuperSeed Fund.