Kopi Kenangan Coffee Chain Cofounder James Prananto Turns Venture Capitalist With $12 Million Maiden Fund

James Prananto, cofounder of Indonesian unicorn coffee chain Kopi Kenangan, is foraying into venture capital (VC) with the closing of a $12 million fund by the recently established Kopital Ventures. Cofounded by Prananto and angel investor Fandy Cendrajaya in partnership with Singapore-based Farquhar Venture Capital, Kopital said in a statement that it aims to focus on early stage startups across Southeast Asia and use its maiden fund to invest in 30 to 40 companies within the next three years.

Kopital says it is backed by international investors and family offices such as Saison Capital, 500 Global, Trihill Capital, Alto Partners Multi-Family Office, and Impack Ventures, which is part of Indonesian billionaire Haryanto Tjiptodihardjo’s family business run by his son Phillip. The VC firm is an offshoot of Kopital Network, an informal group of angel investors in Indonesia that Pranato and Cendrajaya formed in 2021. The duo later decided to leverage their track record and experience to form Kopital Ventures, which Christian Sutardi—an early investor in Kopi Kenangan—joined as a venture partner.