'Best time to start a business – so much talent, so much that is broken, technology tailwinds happening', says Amit Anand.

Amit Anand, co-founder and managing partner of Singapore-based global tech fund Jungle Ventures, which made two 'beautiful' exits in travel from GoVoyagin (to Rakuten) and Travelmob (to HomeAway), believes more such exits are possible post-Covid-19.

“I see more consolidation, more M&A (mergers & acquisitions). There will be a significant increase in inbound investments in M&A as strong companies will seek to grow stronger,” he said.

Crises such as these are fertile ground for disruption, he observed, saying Jungle Ventures, which closed its newest round of US$240 million in the middle of last year, came out of his own failure as an entrepreneur. “I launched an animation startup in 2006 and that got crushed by the global financial crisis, and from that I decided to launch Jungle Ventures.

“The new businesses that are getting started now – this is the best time to start a business. There’s so much talent out there, so much that is broken, we have technology tailwinds happening.”

About 25% of its portfolio are typically in travel and hospitality. Its interests currently include RedDoorz (branded budget accommodation), Sweet Escape (travel and photography platform) and CatchThatBus (digital bus ticketing in Singapore and Malaysia).

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