Research

GPCA members can log in to download the complete 2022 Industry Data & Analysis Excel file.

GPCA data through year-end 2021 across Asia, Latin America, Africa, CEE and the Middle East

Key data takeaways:

VC and tech investments drove private capital investment activity in GPC markets to the highest levels on record.

 

Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), Southeast Asia, Latin America and India posted the largest year-over-year gains due to unprecedented VC activity. The recent public market correction has affected global tech stocks, but digitalization remains a key driver of private capital deal activity. For the first year on record, VC accounted for over half of overall capital invested in GPC markets. Investment in CEE startups increased more than six-fold from 2020 to USD6.9b. Despite sharp depreciation of the lira, Turkish startups attracted some of the largest tickets: Fashion e-commerce site Trendyol became the country’s first decacorn after raising USD1.5b from investors like General Atlantic and SoftBank, and food delivery platform Getir raised USD928m across three rounds from ADQ, Mubadala, Tiger Global, Revo Capital and others.

Investors deployed USD53b across over 1,100 private capital deals in India. The USD3.6b investment in e-commerce platform FlipKart from Walmart, sovereign wealth funds and VC fund managers was the largest deal in 2021. Capital also poured into companies disrupting the education sector such as Byju’s (USD1.65b), Eruditus Learning (USD650m) and Unacademy (USD490m). Even with new government restrictions in key tech-enabled sectors, VC investment in China hit a record USD65b in 2021. Investors shifted away from consumer segments affected by recent policy changes and towards verticals such as robotics, electric vehicles and biotech, exemplified by large rounds for Horizon Robotics (USD1.5b), EV battery company Svolt (USD942m), and Abogen Bio (USD700m).

 

 

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Financial services and IT recorded the largest gains in deal value at the sector level, as fast-emerging fintech and enterprise software platforms attracted global players.

• Capital continued to flow into Latin America’s fintech platforms at a record pace, led by the USD1.15b Series G round for Nubank ahead of its IPO. Digital lending is not the only business model attracting capital in the region: Mexican crypto trading platform Bitso and payments company Clip each raised USD250m.
• Investors poured a record USD2.2b into African fintech companies in 2021, minting new payments unicorns OPay, Chipper Cash, Wave and Flutterwave.
• Middle East-based enterprise software companies attracted a new cohort of international investors. Silver Lake invested USD800m in UAE-based AI and cloud computing company Group 42 as the company’s first ‘Western’ investor. Meanwhile, SoftBank struck its first deal in Saudi Arabia, joining local investors in the USD125m Series B for CRM solutions developer Unifonic.

 

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Private capital-backed businesses in GPC markets raised USD93b via IPOs, direct listings, and SPAC mergers in 2021. Public market demand drove overall exit value* for GPC markets to USD162b, a 54% year-over-year gain.

Brazil-based Nubank raised USD2.6b at a USD41.5b valuation through its dual listing on the NYSE and B3. The company is backed by regional VCs such as KASZEK and international institutional investors GIC and CPP Investments. Investors including Earlybird and Accel returned USD1.3b in the NYSE IPO of UiPath, a Romanian AI software developer. Read more about Earlybird’s investment in UiPath in the 2022 GPCA Deal Book.

Singaporean superapp Grab listed on the Nasdaq at a USD39.6b valuation through a SPAC merger with Altimeter Capital. Bukalapak, an Indonesia-based online marketplace backed by 500 Global, Endeavor Catalyst and others, raised USD1.5b in its IPO on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

 

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Closes for some of the largest private capital vehicles ever raised for GPC markets drove fundraising to USD107b in 2021, a 23% year-over-year increase and the highest level on record.

KKR held a USD15b final close for its Asian Fund IV, surpassing the USD10.6b raised by Hillhouse Capital’s fourth fund in 2018 as the largest vehicle raised for GPC markets. Baring Private Equity Asia reached a USD8.5b first close for its eighth flagship fund. Actis announced the final close at USD4.7b of the largest infrastructure and energy-focused vehicle ever raised for GPC markets. Actis Energy 5, along with funds managed by Denham, BlackRock, Metier and Navis, drove climate-focused fundraising for GPC markets to USD7.3b in 2021, an all-time high. Read more about climate-focused investment strategies in GPC markets in the 2021 Climate Data Insight.

Venture capital fundraising also reached record levels in 2021 as investors chase tech-enabled opportunities in GPC markets. VCs raised USD31.1b in 2021, led by vehicles targeting China, India and Latin America. Lightrock reached a USD900m final close for its flagship late-stage impact vehicle, and LeapFrog announced a new USD500m partnership with Temasek Holdings, representing the growing scale of impact platforms targeting GPC markets.

Additional Reading
GPCA’s 2022 Trends in Global Tech
GPCA’s 2022 Southeast Asia Startup Directory
LAVCA’s 2022 Industry Data and Analysis
LAVCA’s 2022 Trends in Latin American Tech