Suggestions
Paulo Campos
Tech investor and entrepreneur based in Manila, Philippines
Paulo Campos III is a prominent entrepreneur and investor in the Philippines. He is the Founding Managing General Partner of Kaya Founders, an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in high-impact entrepreneurs across Southeast Asia.2 Campos co-founded ZALORA Philippines, the country's largest fashion e-commerce marketplace, in 2011 and served as its CEO for over a decade until late 2021.2
Career Highlights
- Kaya Founders: Founding Managing General Partner (March 2022 - Present)1
- ZALORA Philippines: Co-Founder and CEO (2011 - 2021)2
- Pulse 63 Healthcare Ventures: Founding Partner (March 2022 - Present)1
- Shakey's Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc.: Board Member (November 2016 - Present)1
Investment Focus
Campos leads investments in various sectors through Kaya Founders, including:
- E-commerce
- Digital health
- Fintech
- Logistics
- B2B SaaS2
Education and Early Career
- Harvard Business School (2008 - 2010)1
- The Boston Consulting Group: Consultant (August 2010 - January 2012)1
- Ayala Land, Inc.: Special Assistant to the CEO (August 2005 - August 2008)1
Paulo Campos is recognized as a key figure in the Philippine startup ecosystem, driving digital transformation and supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs in the region.3
Highlights
Thank you to Forbes and David Prosser for sharing more about Kaya Founders, the Philippines start-up ecosystem, and our first close for our Zero to One and One to Ten funds! It was a pleasure to chat with David to shed light on the Philippines reaching an exciting inflection point in the development of the local technology venture landscape.
The reason the Philippines has been a fairly nascent tech ecosystem until recently despite the country’s large digital-savvy and growing middle class population is that there have not been enough founders actively throwing their hat into the ring - the “bridge to entrepreneurship” has required too large a leap of faith for would-be entrepreneurs to take the plunge to start their own ventures. Not only has the funding environment been limited with only a handful of pioneering CVCs actively investing, but the frictions and challenges in starting a technology-enabled venture in the Philippines—including sourcing strong tech talent, knowing which strategic partners to align with and experience in go-to-market strategies that scale—meant that only a few very brave souls dared to make the leap.
With Kaya Founders now part of the local ecosystem, those looking to become founders and entrepreneurs have a “first port of call” at the idea stages or “day zero” and can explore the journey of starting a venture together with our experienced team. When you have Ray Alimurung who was last with Lazada Philippines as its CEO working with you on your e-commerce strategy, or Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng who is one of the most respected business leaders and is the most iconic angel investor in Philippine history telling you that your idea is a good one, you are going to feel ten-feet tall and that you can conquer the market with our support. Kaya’s job is to make the bridge to entrepreneurship a shorter one and make the leap of faith less scary. We don’t see Kaya as a firm or company but rather an ecosystem - one of like minded founders and entrepreneurs looking to make a difference and create impact in their chosen fields.
“Kaya” in Tagalog (Filipino) translates to “can do.” It captures the proactive, bold and conquering spirit we look for in our founders!
It’s been a pleasure to build this from our own Day 0 with my partners Constantin Robertz Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng Ray Alimurung Raya Buensuceso Toby Floro Mark Andrew Yao Jahleel-AN B. Rambo Joinani Gabrielle Rodriguez Danielle King and the rest of the Kaya team. It’s an honor to be able to work alongside people I deeply respect and admire! 🙏🏻
This is an exciting time for early stage investors in this region of the world, and the Philippines in particular is shaping up to be one of Southeast Asia’s rising stars. The emerging Filipino middle class, increased digitization via internet penetration and smartphone usage, and new consumer and business behaviors are creating unprecented opportunities to create impact at scale.
Kaya Founders was born at the start of the pandemic to create a platform to seed the burgeoning pool of local founders with initial capital and hands-on support at their earliest stages. The journey to this point today has been incredible, and we’ve witnessed many wins, challenges, and learnings along the way. I’m proud to share that since we’ve begun investing in Q4 2021, we have been able to build a stellar portfolio of over 30 companies across the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
Together with our latest General Partner Ray Alimurung, our phenomenal founders, friends locally and abroad, and the Kaya Founders team, we are focused on continuing to build a better Philippines and Southeast Asia—one that harnesses the power of technology to solve pressing problems, fosters Filipino ingenuity and talent, and promotes entrepreneurship to spur economic development. My sincerest thank you to everyone who has supported us thus far! 🙏🏻
