AHG Lab to invest in 5 startups this year
By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter
PHILIPPINE-BASED venture builder AHG Lab is looking to invest in four to five startups this year, citing growth opportunities in business automation and consumer products, according to its chief executive officer (CEO).
“In the last four years, we have invested in about 36 companies in the portfolio,” Rene D. Cuartero, co-founder and CEO at AHG Lab, told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of Sinigang Valley’s BUILD Startup Festival. “This year, we want to focus more on our current portfolio, and we will be investing in a maximum of five companies this year.”
“For those five companies, we’re planning to deploy around $500,000 to a million dollars,” he added.
The venture builder started investing in one company early this year, and will announce the remaining four investments this quarter.
“We’re looking at those related to what consumers are really tapping so that could be a consumer product or something that affects consumer behavior,” Mr. Cuartero said.
“The Philippines is a consumption-driven economy, and a lot of the value and cash revenue that can be generated would be taking advantage of the consumption of Filipinos.”
Private consumption, which accounts for about three-fourths of the economy, rose 4.8% in 2024, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
AHG Lab is also looking to invest in companies that automate business processes, whether through using artificial intelligence (AI) or not, Mr. Cuartero said.
“We truly believe that business processes that need to be automated is still an important space to invest in because a lot of companies, both small and large, are actually starting to look at more tech solutions,” he added.
AHG Lab is also eyeing investments in companies, organizations and even nonprofits that seek to bolster the capability of Philippine startups and founders.
To raise funds, it has partnered with Abu Dhabi-based venture capital firm Yellowfin Capital to invest in Philippine companies.
AHG Lab is also launching its VC credit fund to help tech startups and founders fund their growth capital or long-term investments.
“We see that a lot of founders, when they raise capital, the tendency is that it gets locked up into working capital and they don’t actually get to invest their capital into growth,” Mr. Cuartero said.
In 2024, the Philippine startup ecosystem raised $1.12 billion, 16% higher than a year ago, according to the latest Philippine Venture Capital report by the Boston Consulting Group venture capital fund Foxmont Capital Partners.
