Pan-Asian venture capital (VC) firm Gobi Partners has signed an MoU with HSBC to support, among others, tech start-ups focusing on serving the Muslim community and Islamic economy.
According to an official statement, both entities will explore further opportunities to drive business and financial connectivity between the Hong Kong and ASEAN region, as well as the Greater Bay Area in China.
Together, they will explore sustainable innovation and investment aligned to the UN SDGs. This is in line with Gobi Venture’s sustainable policies: it is a participant of the UN Global Compact.
“Today’s MoU further underlines HSBC and Gobi Partners’s commitment in empowering diverse entrepreneurs regardless of gender and background,” according to a joint statement.
Most notably, Gobi Partners and HSBC will also jointly support ‘TaqwaTech’ ventures, start-ups that build products to serve the Islamic economy.
TaqwaTech is a term Gobi Partners coined for Muslim-friendly investment, an area the China-founded VC has been focusing on since 2015.
Among its TaqwaTech portfolio includes online travel agency Tripfez and digital reseller platform Zarya.
HSBC Hong Kong’s CEO Luanne Lim said: “Gobi Partners and HSBC share a common vision, which is to help innovative businesses unlock their potential, create more jobs, and access new global opportunities. The MoU signals our commitment to support Hong Kong and ASEAN businesses at all stages, boost their growth, and help them compete on the global stage.
Founded in 2002, Gobi Partners currently manages US$1.6 billion in assets, with headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong and presence in 13 other locations.