500 Startups promotes Ee Ling as Regional Director to spearhead innovation programmes in APAC

Global VC firm 500 Startups has announced that it has promoted Ee Ling as Regional Director for APAC.

In this role, Ling will be heading 500 Startups’s business development for corporate and startup innovation programmes in the region.

She will also be responsible for forging partnerships and strengthening relationships with corporates, governments, enterprises, foundations and other stakeholders involved in developing startup ecosystems across the globe.

Ling has over 13 years of experience in investment banking, consumer, retail, technology and edutech. She was previously the Singapore Country Lead (Innovation & Partnerships) for 500 Startups and has built and led innovation programmes for corporates and startups in Singapore and Malaysia. They include the Global Launch market access accelerator programmes, the PETRONAS FutureTech accelerator programme, and The Future of X UnConference.

Ling also spent nearly a decade in investment banking institutions such as Bank of America Merrill Lynch and CIMB, where she advised corporations in Southeast Asia on growth and fundraising.

As a co-founder of edutech company Smarter Me, which addresses the gap in relevant 21st-century skills and what children are learning in school, Ling is actively involved in the region’s startup ecosystem.

Since 2018, she has organised, hosted and mentored for Young Founders Summit, a leading startup competition and entrepreneurship programme for middle school and high school founders in Asia.

Ling said: “We have seen exponential growth in Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem over the past few years, thanks to a combination of strong economic progress, the rise of a digital-savvy population and close collaboration between stakeholders in the startup ecosystem.  However, there is still ample room to grow and innovate, and that is what makes it exciting for 500 Startups.”

500 Startups is one of the most active global early-stage VC firms which has invested in over 2,500 companies across 78 countries. Its fund in Southeast Asia called 500 Durians, which has backed over 200 companies across multiple verticals.

Among its portfolio companies are tech giants like Grab, Bukalapak, Carousell and Alodokter.

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Image Credit: 500 startups

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