Founded in 2018, venture capital (VC) firm Core Capital is the result of a partnership between founding partners Jason Gaisano, Ken Ngo and Carlo Chen-Delantar with Pan-Asian VC, Gobi Partners.
Headquartered in Manila, Philippines, Core Capital strategically invests in tech-enabled early-stage startups across the Philippines through the Gobi-Core Philippines Fund (Gobi-Core) and has already invested in startups which have now become local household names such as Tier One, kumu and Cloudeats. Core Capital is also well-positioned to guide and springboard its local champions across Gobi Partners’ 15 countries’ ASEAN presence and track record of performance.
Gobi-Core was officially accredited as a Co-Investment Partner of the Philippine government’s Startup Venture Fund (SVF) in early 2023. Per the Innovative Startup Act (RA 11337), the SVF can be used to match investments by selected investors in startups of varying stages based in the Philippines. The SVF is a joint effort by the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Development Company.
“Since our founding in 2002, Gobi Partners’ core investment philosophy has been to support tech entrepreneurs in emerging and underserved markets. In the past 18 years, we have backed world-class founders that have built category-defining companies, resulted in 9 unicorns (valued at $US1 B+), and enabled us to generate consistent outsized returns.
From the Gobi to the Kalahari,”
— Thomas G. Tsao
It is ripe for a digital transformation –with a young population median (age of 25.8 years old), an emerging middle class, high internet and mobile penetration (68 M), improving infrastructure and increasing interest in tech entrepreneurship and development.
Old inefficiency problems are now being solved with new technology. The pandemic has accelerated and magnified the need for digital solutions –most of which are already available in other countries.