Cendana Capital is a “next generation funds-of-funds” founded by Michael Kim. Before starting Cendana, Kim was an original partner at Rustic Canyon Partners and currently serves as a member of the limited pattern advisory boards for a slew of well-known firms, including Accerlator Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Founder Collective, Freestyle Capital, K9 Ventures, Lerer Ventures, and SoftTech VC. Kim, clearly, is an active figure within the venture capital community.

With Cendana, he exclusively invests in seed-stage or ‘micro-cap VC’ funds, which then put their money into young startups. Seed-stage investing is a hot button issue right now. The entrepreneurial community is all flutter with discussions of the legendary ‘Series A’ crunch. The cost of launching and operating an Internet startup is fairly low and as a result, the ecosystem is saturated with early-stage companies looking for capital. However, the number of seed-financed startups greatly outnumbers the amount of venture capital firms willing to invest in an institutional round, which means that unless these companies can quickly establish a revenue stream or get acquired (or raise an A round), they go under.

The main cause of this ‘crunch’ is the sheer number of seed-stage startups, which Cendana is helping to fuel. That said, a robust support system for early stage startups is a key driver of innovation and it is important to create an environment that promotes entrepreneurship. A current trend in the tech world right now is venture capital firms investing more in seed stage companies. Earlier this week, Maveron announced an initiative to fund and foster seed startups, and Sequoia recently confined existence of its Scout Seed Fund.

Cendana is a part of this movement. The initial $60 million was filed in June 2012 and today the fund closed at $88 million, as first reported by Pando Daily. Read the SEC filing. 

Quasar’s mission is to establish groundbreaking and successful technology companies in Latin America. It is taking an approach dubbed “parallel entrepreneurship”- Quasar comes up with ideas and business models, and then finds entrepreneurs to execute them. The fund supports the companies with seed financing, mentorship, and a professional network.

“It is because of these distinctive traits that Quasar is neither an investment fund nor an incubator,” said founder and CEO Pablo Simón Casarino. “We are an experienced group of entrepreneurs with the mission of building groundbreaking and successful technology companies by bringing together robust business models and talented entrepreneur teams.”

The goal is launch ten tech companies over the next four years. The three founders Casarino, Andy Freire, and Santiago Bilinkis formerly worked as executives at Officenet. They will apply their entrepreneurial expertise to finding promising leaders capable of building successful companies.

“Because human capital is a fundamental pillar, the ideal Quasar entrepreneur must have a cluster of unique personal and professional skills: he/she must be intellectually brilliant, ambitious, creative and an extraordinary leader,” the company said in a statement. “Quasar plans to find entrepreneurs with an edge who are able to produce a dramatic global impact as leaders of the ten companies that will be built in partnership with the firm in the coming years.”

Silicon Valley venture firm Emergence Capital Partners helped fund Quasar, as well as a series of Latin American angel investors and strategic partners. Read the press release.

Photo Credit: alextorrenegra/Flickr

88mph, a South African accelerator program, just received backing from the local venture capital firm 4Di in a move that seeks to forge a lasting connection between African entrepreneurs and African investors.

“It is important for startups in Africa to get local investors,” said 88mph founder Kresten Buch during a Skype interview. “4Di is the first venture capital firm that has supported more deal flow here. People with money here don’t go for tech investments, but there is so much potential in the emerging market here, and less competition. 4Di is investing in 88mph because we generate opportunities for follow-on investments. We seed them and 4Di takes them forward.”

Funding is a major hurdle in the African startup economy and mentorship is not enough to get startups off the ground. While 88mph provides training and education on design, programming, and business development, offering capital is a necessary part of moving the businesses into the next stage of their lifecycle. The accelerator’s approach is to make a large number of small investments, creating a more robust environment for entrepreneurs and investors alike.

Buch said that a viable business model is crucial for portfolio companies because they cannot rely on venture capital for a runway. The goal is to release products as quickly as possible and make money within the first three months. A few years ago, this posed a significant challenge due to low levels of internet connectivity and penetration, as well as insufficient education.

However, Africa is now at the brink of a technological Renaissance. Mobile technology has totally transformed the local economy and there are a wealth of online resources to learn about computer science, design, business etc… Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund forecasts that sub-Saharan Africa will be third fastest growing region in the world in 2013 and 2014, and the international venture capital community is paying more attention to startups in emerging markets.

Buch founded 88mph in 2011 in Kenya. Since then, the program expanded into South Africa. It has made 24 investments adding up to over $1 million and claims to be Africa’s most active seed fund. Buch is a serial entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience (and multiple exits) in Europe and Africa. He met Justin Stanford, a cofounder and general partner of 4Di through their involvement with Google Entrepreneurs, a program where Google partners with tech hubs across Africa to provide coworking space, training opportunities, and host events and workshops. Google also provides technical content, business tools, and infrastructure upgrades.

While Google helps sooth technical growing pains, 4Di’s seeks to sooth financial ones. 4Di targets investment opportunities with high growth potential in the seed and early-stages in the relatively under-serviced mobile, enterprise software and web start-up markets in Southern Africa. Stanford also founded the Silicon Cape Initiative, which seeks to elevate Cape Town’s position as a hub for IT innovation and entrepreneurship. Both are dedicated to nurturing the local ecosystem.

According to Katie Sarro, 88mph’s brand strategist, its startups have serviced 100,000 customers and have generated over 100 jobs in Africa. The most recent batch of portfolio companies include map, payment, and transportation solutions, as well as tools to manage electricity consumption and property online and an extreme sports booking service. The unifying theme is they are companies founded by African entrepreneurs geared towards the African market, and now, backed by African money.

Both Twilio and 500 Startups are dedicated to growing and connecting the international startup community. Twilio’s technology simplifies building global communication networks, and 500 Startups nurtures entrepreneurs from around the world. When their powers combine, they will provide financing and mentorship to applicant companies that make “creative use of the Twilio API.”

Twilio provides telephony infrastructure via the cloud. Using the technology, developers can add call, text, and VoIP capabilities to their web and mobile apps. The service is active on six continents (penguins don’t have much need for VoIP) and can power communication in 150 countries. Historically, setting up cross-border communication systems was not something the average startup could do. Twilio’s API helps make telephony services globally accessible.

“At Twilio, we think SMS and voice should work the same way,” said Twilio product manager Patrick Malatack in a statement last year. “There are no geopolitical boundaries for the web, and we want to ensure developers can work with the telecom network like they do other Internet services.”

500 Startups is a global seed fund and accelerator program founded by the colorful Dave McClure. McClure has been an extremely vocal advocate for startups in emerging markets and makes a significant number of investments in companies operating in Asia, Latin America, and Europe.

“I’m being Captain Obvious to say that that there is incredible innovation happening in Europe,” McClure said in a statement. “Entrepreneurs in those countries often have limited access to venture capital. We’re already investing actively all around the world, Europe included. So we’re pumped to be continuing with Twilio Fund Europe.”

Twilio Fund 2013 will provide seed funding as well as free Twilio credits. Applicants must be building or about to launch a service powered by Twilio’s web service APIs, privately held, less than five years old, and have received less than in funding.

The microfund was first formed with 500 Startups back in 2010. Over a dozen startups have received funding to date. The 2012 finalists were announced yesterday –  Babelverse, Call Loop, Healthsouk, Sessions, and Wedgies. The deadline for applying for the 2013 fund is May 1.

Photo credit: C.P.G.Grey/Flickr

Mind the Bridge formed a new seed fund to bring startups from Mediterranean countries to Silicon Valley. The money will support entrepreneurs from distressed economies, focusing on Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, the Balkans, Lebanon, and Turkey, as they establish headquarters in the U.S.

Marco Marinucci founded Mind the Bridge in 2007 as a side project while he was working at Google. He first conceived it as a non-profit accelerator program dedicated to developing Italy’s startup ecosystem. The organization now encompasses a wider geographical scope and also includes a startup school. With this investment arm, Mind the Bridge is able to financially support its startups so they can succeed.

“There are thousands of talented, well educated engineers and potential entrepreneurs living in countries where starting a company is not a feasible option,” Marinucci said in an email interview. “For these people, finding a partner who can appreciate their value, deeply understand their issues, and function as an effective bridge to Silicon Valley is very hard.”

Mind the Bridge also provides strategic support, assisting international entrepreneurs as they secure visas, incorporate in the U.S., learn English, and seek out mentors. Marinucci advocates a “dual-company model,” whereby development stays in the home country but headquarters are in Silicon Valley where the market and the money is. He said this benefits both the countries of origin and the startup scene here, which can benefit from an influx of skilled workers.

The three-month accelerator program will run twice a year and is expected to make 12 to 15 seed investments a year of between $40,000 and $100,000. Investors in the fund include Marinucci himself, CEO of Enel Green Power Franceso Starace, president of the Inter Milan Soccer Club Massimo Moratti, and Fedele Confalonieri, chairman of the Mediaset Group.