Singapore-based Openspace Ventures is launching public markets and private credit strategies and will open a Hong Kong office, according to Shane Chesson, a founding partner at the firm.

These initiatives not only take Openspace outside of its Southeast Asia stronghold but also beyond the traditional scope of venture capital. The firm, which has to date raised only early-stage, growth-stage, and blockchain funds, has been renamed Openspace Capital in recognition of this shift.

“It is big for the entire team in terms of our journey, but it also reflects the evolution of the Southeast Asia market. People are looking for ways to get more exits done and ways to make money from companies doing those exits. They want more solutions at the growth stage,” said Chesson.

“Our platform has multiple early-stage funds, and we will keep doing that. It’s our core. But with others running away from Southeast Asia, it is a good time for us to double down and increase exposure to strategies for which there is demand from LPs and companies.”

The Orbit Listed Growth Fund, which is being launched in conjunction with Australia-based Perennial Partners, plays into Singapore’s efforts to attract more IPOs.

Earlier this year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced its set of measures to boost liquidity on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The centrepiece is the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP), which will see SGD 5bn (USD 3.7bn) allocated to independent managers of actively managed funds with mandates to invest in Singapore stocks.

MAS has awarded SGD 1.1bn to three managers so far, and Orbit Listed Growth Fund wants to be added to the list. It is hoped that the fund could ultimately reach SGD 500m in size, including commitments from other investors.

The plan is to marry Openspace’s heritage of working with start-ups in Southeast Asia with Perennial’s experience of small to mid-cap IPOs, which have been far more common in Australia than in Singapore. Whispir, a cloud-based communications platform backed by Openspace, was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2019.

Openspace has recruited Udhay Furtado, previously co-head of APAC equity capital markets at Citi, to lead the public markets strategy. Investments began earlier this year, drawing on warehouse facilities and Openspace’s own capital reserves.

The credit offering, known as Onyx Growth Credit, is intended to fill what Chesson describes as an unmet need beyond the venture debt space. Once start-ups in Southeast Asia achieve a certain level of maturity – perhaps nearing profitability – they see debt as an attractive, non-dilutive funding option. However, no one is willing to write tickets of USD 15m-USD 30m.

Onyx Growth Credit will start providing these facilities in the next couple of months, initially on a deal-by-deal basis with backing from a Japanese financial institution and a North Asia-based family office, Chesson said. Ultimately, they are expected to become anchor LPs in a fund of at least USD 200m in size.

Omesh Fabiani, a Standard Chartered Bank veteran who has served as Openspace’s CFO since 2021, is now head of credit. He will share the role with an unnamed individual who will be based in the firm’s soon-to-open Hong Kong office. Hong Kong will serve as an outpost for Onyx Growth Credit to pursue a pan-regional mandate.

“We want to provide bespoke solutions to the growth market. What we’ve seen from our experience in raising venture debt and different types of credit for our companies is that the expertise is not in Asia,” Chesson added.

“Markets like the US and Australia have people who can think about that USD 15m-plus space. In Asia, existing players are constrained in terms of what they can do.”

Openspace was founded 11 years ago and now operates out of six offices in Southeast Asia, staffed by 38 people. It claims to have made over 100 investments to date. The firm closed its fourth early-stage fund at USD 163m in November 2024. A second growth-stage vehicle launched around the same time with a target of USD 300m.