“As CVC investors, we have to communicate with parent firms regularly and educate them about what is available on the market,” says Darryl Ratulangi, managing director and head of OCBC Ventura, the corporate venturing arm of Indonesian financial services firm Bank OCBC NISP.
“Setting up the right metrics has been crucial for us. It was tough when we were setting up the unit, but thanks to that we are now able to enjoy smooth operations.”
Ratulangi joined Bank OCBC NISP in 2019 to help create OCBC Ventura, which is investing from a $30m fund. It focuses on Indonesian digital companies across all sectors at seed and series A stages.
Ratulangi had to devise new investment strategies quickly during the covid-19 pandemic and the economic downturn that followed after lockdown restrictions were lifted.
“In corporate venturing, success is not just about investment, it is about creating value and collaboration.”
“It was an interesting situation for us,” says Ratulangi. “But we saw it as an opportunity and it helped us leapfrog some of our competitors. If these situations did not happen, I do not think we would be where we are today.”
OCBC Ventura has five members on the investment team and another five covering operations and value creation. Its portfolio includes 15 companies, including supply chain digitalisation tool provider Awan Tunai and home furnishing cloud platform Dekoruma.
With a background in investment banking and private equity, Ratulangi spent three years at investment bank Panasean Investama Indonesia and a year at asset manager Maj Invest before OCBC.
During his five years at OCBC Ventura, Ratulangi says the biggest challenge has been recruiting. “We thought it would be easy to recruit top talent, but most people are not familiar with corporate venturing or do not want to join a CVC team,” he says. “To succeed, we have to get first-tier talent. If we start sacrificing our talent quality, we will not have an edge.”
See the full list of GCV Emerging Leaders for 2024 here.