SEA Horizons

Explores how stronger exit pathways, domestic capital markets and gender-diverse fund management can help build more durable and repeatable investment returns in Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia is at a critical turning point. As geopolitical tensions, climate pressures, and energy supply disruptions reshape the region, resilient infrastructure has never been more important. This article explores how strategic investment—including in women-led enterprises—is helping build practical solutions that strengthen energy security, support economic growth, and prepare the region for future shocks.

As Southeast Asia’s private capital landscape matures, attention is shifting to a new breed of fund managers - emerging, entrepreneurial, and often diverse. These emerging managers, whether first-time fund managers or spin-outs from established firms, are playing an increasingly important role across venture capital, private equity, and private credit.

In a world where Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) once reigned as the gold standard, LP sentiment has shifted toward Distributions to Paid-In Capital (“DPI”) as the leading indicator of success. This is hardly surprising - the tightening liquidity environment, higher interest rates, and subdued exit markets have forced investors to focus on realized returns over paper markups. Across Southeast Asia, this paradigm shift is reshaping how GPs approach liquidity and what LPs expect in return.

Southeast Asia’s (SEA) economic growth in 2025 is projected to surpass the global average - 4.1% v. 3%. This growth is fuelled by a rapidly growing middle class, infrastructure investment, and digitalization. More than 460 million people are now online, and the region’s digital economy is expected to exceed US$330 billion by 2025 and potentially US$1 trillion by 2030.

In this edition of SEA Horizons we explore the opportunity as it relates to Southeast Asia, including the wave of femtech startups in the region, the importance of seeing the opportunity beyond just women-only health issues, and how new paradigms of service delivery options can open up new markets.

This special edition of SEA Horizons spotlights the role of women in shaping capital markets, unlocking new economic frontiers, and leading high-growth sectors.

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the investment landscape, limited partners (LPs) and venture capitalists (VCs) realize that AI’s value goes beyond operational efficiency. Increasingly, AI is emerging as a transformative tool for decision-making— especially when identifying emerging managers, new sector strategies, and market opportunities.

Learn more about the key takeaways from the Deal Street Asia LP Roundtable sessions and get to know the Investing in Women 2024 Award winners.