The Unicorn Breeder

- Ardian Wibisono 

Indonesia has a vibrant startups scene with already four out of seven unicorn in the region. However not many saw that potential nine years ago. In 2010, Chandra Tjan, 39, was among the few who see the potential of the digital economy in Indonesia and the trends in the U.S. and China could repeat in the country. Local startups like Tokopedia also started to emerge at the time, but finding financing was still not easy. Looking at the opportunity, that year Chandra decided to quit his job, moved into Jakarta, and started the pioneering tech investor East Ventures with Batara Eto, and later with Wilson Cuaca and Taiga Matsuyama. However he was the only partner that is based in Indonesia. Before setting up East Ventures, Chandra was in the banking sector for nearly ten years, working at Credit Suisse and Citi Group in Singapore. East Ventures raised their first fund of just S$3 million and invested in more than 30 companies including Tokopedia and Traveloka – he is still the director of East Ventures Fund 1 until today. Chandra was the first board member in the two startups in the early days for a few years. Now, that first fund net asset value (NAV) has multiplied by an amazing 20 times the initial investment (20X). Until now, Chandra still holds shares in both unicorns.