ADB Ventures is the venture investing arm of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), approved by the bank in January 2020 and based in Manila. It invests in early-stage technology companies tackling urgent development challenges in emerging Asia and the Pacific, focused on climate mitigation and adaptation alongside gender equality, currently operating under its SEED Capital+ investment programme.
The mandate is early-stage, impact-first venture capital: cheques of up to $4 million at pre-Series A to Series A in scalable, technology-driven companies, plus a technical-assistance arm offering up to $200,000 in seed pilot funding. The SEED Capital+ targets published on its site: 80% of investments with strong climate impact, 75% with strong female market or management participation, and 100% crowding in additional capital. Sectors span cleantech and clean energy, sustainable mobility, sustainable agriculture, circular economy and green materials, green finance and data, fintech and healthtech.
On fund size, the inaugural ADB Ventures Equity Fund closed at $60 million in September 2020 — $10 million over its target — backed by institutional and sovereign backers including Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the Nordic Development Fund (NDF, the €10 million anchor investor in the facility), and Korea Investment Corp. (KVIC). The fund had a 17-year life and had made nine investments plus six follow-ons since close, alongside nearly 40 seed fundings. In March 2024, ADB Ventures Investment Fund 1A was reported to be raising $200 million for a climate-focused fund targeting pre-Series A and Series A Asian startups, with concept approval in December 2023. The platform's stated ambition: crowd in $1 billion of risk capital toward the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
The India portfolio is the programme's largest country presence. On its official portfolio page: Euler Motors, Smart Joules, SatSure, Revfin, Captain Fresh, Three Wheels United, Tvasta and Farmdar, alongside others across energy, mobility, agritech and climate data. Its first two investments ever, announced in 2021, were both Indian: Euler Motors ($9.5 million Series A, with ADB Ventures contributing $2.6 million — its first-ever EV investment globally, and it also participated in Euler's $60 million Series C led by GIC Singapore in 2022) and Smart Joules ($4.1 million Series A alongside Sangam Ventures). Wider Asia names include Indonesia's Blitz Electric Mobility (ADB Ventures-led $1.6 million seed extension in 2024) and the Philippines' 3cat, whose $4 million Series A with Foxmont Capital Partners and Golden Gate Ventures was announced in October 2026.
Publicly quoted spokespeople include Daniel Hersson (Senior Fund Manager), Dominic Mellor (Principal Investment Specialist) and Charles Cole Navarro (Investment Specialist); a single current programme head could not be verified from published sources.
On current status: despite wind-down chatter, the platform is operating as of October 2026 — the official site shows fresh portfolio news (the 3cat Series A), the SEED Capital+ programme, and a new fintech investment vehicle with LHoFT and Luxembourg's foreign ministry. No official closure announcement was found in any source checked.
Why it matters for founders
ADB Ventures is one of the few investors in Asia writing early-stage cheques with genuine climate and gender mandates — and patient capital, with a 17-year fund life and no pressure to sprint to exits. For Indian climate, EV, agritech and fintech founders at pre-Series A to Series A, it offers catalytic validation, deep Asian policy networks, and up to $200,000 in seed piloting before a fund cheque. The bar is real: every deal must show climate impact, gender outcomes and co-investor crowd-in.