Provident Capital, DeClout Ventures and HeveaConnect Management lead a US$7.1 million Series A fundraising round for HeveaConnect

SINGAPORE, July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HeveaConnect Pte Ltd ("HC"), a Singapore-based, agri-commodities platform company today announced that it has completed its series A round led by Provident Capital Partners ("Provident"), DeClout Ventures ("DeClout") and HC management. Provident and DeClout joins SGX Group ("SGX"), DBS Bank ("DBS"), ITOCHU Corporation ("ITOCHU") and Halcyon Agri Corporation ("Halcyon") as shareholders of HC. The management team has also bought in with the HC CEO owning more than a 3% direct stake. Founded in 2018, HC has built a digital trading platform for physical natural rubber trading, with more than 600,000 metric tonnes ("mT") traded since 2019 and counts the world's top tyre makers, rubber producers and traders as its customers.

Proceeds from the investment will be used for working capital, technology development and continued business development in natural rubber industry as well as expansion into other agri-commodities. HC has partnered World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore ("WWF - Singapore") in the development of Hamurni, a practical, inclusive and scalable digital tool for the palm oil supply chain mapping and traceability. It aims to empower smallholder farmers and transform the industry towards transparency and sustainability.

Mr Gavin Caudle, Founding Partner of Provident said, "Provident has built businesses across a variety of industries, including infrastructure, mining, technology and renewables. We are keen to explore new opportunities within the sustainability space, especially in Indonesia where Provident's business are mostly concentrated in. The investment into HC is a strategic one for us and it is an honour to be part of the journey in enabling traceability and increasing the transparency of agri-commodities through HC's suite of products and trading platform."

Mr Lim Swee Yong, CEO of DeClout Ventures, added, "We see strong synergies between HC's offering and our portfolio companies in the technology space. Our Group's expertise in facilitating cross-border trade through compliance, logistics and IoT asset tracking will complement the agri-commodities platform that HC is building. We are excited to back HC as it enters a new phase of growth and look forward to partnering with all stakeholders to further accelerate its expansion and sustainability impact."

As part of the deal, an Employee Share Option Scheme ("ESOS") will be set up and Halcyon has sold US$1.6 million of shares to the investors in a secondary share sale, reducing its stake to below 30% on a fully diluted basis. HC will undergo a restructuring exercise post investment where the company will create a wholly owned subsidiary focusing on natural rubber, all existing products related to natural rubber would be licensed to the new entity.

The subsidiary will setup a board of advisors ("BOA") consisting of an equal number of sell and buy side customers, the purpose of the BOA is to help ensure data integrity, transparency and promote the adoption of the platform. This structure paves the way for future expansion into different commodities, with each commodity having its own products to be housed in a separate subsidiary with separate BOAs.

Mr Gerald Tan, CEO of HC, shared, "Being involved in HC since its inception, I am excited to see how the company has developed and the traction that it has gained. We are thankful for the support of our investors and the opportunities that the industry has provided us thus far. This is just the beginning of our journey, together with my team, our investment shows the management commitment and belief in the future of our company."

About HeveaConnect

Singapore founded and based HeveaConnect brings you the future of commodities trading. We are at the forefront of digitalising the natural rubber supply chain across the globe to create a data-enriched, technology-powered ecosystem. This digital transformation enables deeper analysis of the supply chain to uncover environmental, social and financial risks allowing targeted interventions. 

At HeveaConnect, we use technology to enable data transparency and strengthen trust. We provide industry intelligence and insights to empower our customers to make smarter decisions. We strive to identify issues and deliver solutions that will redefine how commodities are produced and traded.

For more information, please visit www.heveaconnect.com

Media Contact: info@heveaconnect.com

About Provident Capital

Since 2004, the founding partners have been responsible for the establishment of Tower Bersama, JD.ID, and Merdeka Copper Gold, creating three wholly separate businesses with a combined value in excess of US$12.5 billion. As a business builder, Provident has decades of experience and a strong reputation for building value, attracting blue chip international institutional investors and high-quality banks.

Provident prides itself on its wide network of investment, financing and operating partners. Provident investee companies have outstanding reputations with a commitment to high quality management, corporate governance and high ESG standards. As a privately held conglomerate, Provident has no requirement to divest. Provident invests and builds companies with a long-term outlook.

Media Contact: info@procap-partners.com

About DeClout Ventures

DeClout Ventures is the corporate venture arm of DeClout, a builder of next-generation ICT companies that invests in, incubates and scales companies to become global or regional market leaders. DeClout's portfolio companies are all in the technology space, providing businesses with technology expertise and solutions to help clients solve their problems.

DeClout's companies currently comprise of fast-growing trade technology firm GUUD, ICT solutions provider Aeqon, green technology service providers ARCO and Procurri, neutral hosting solutions provider dhost, and Internet-of-Things solutions provider Ascent Solutions.

DeClout is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Exeo Global Pte. Ltd, the regional headquarters of Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Exeo Group, Inc.

Media Contact: charlene.chen@declout.com