Brijesh Pande

Brijesh Pande is the Founder and Managing Partner of the Tembusu ICT Fund, launched in 2015 under Singapore-based private equity firm Tembusu Partners (itself founded in 2006 by four Singapore business families — Andy Lim, Tan Kim Seng, Tan Boy Tee, and Chew Hua Seng). Pande holds his ownership interest in the fund's General Partner through his family investment vehicle, Pepri Ventures, and sits on the fund's board and investment committee.

He brings more than 20 years of experience in venture capital and investment banking spanning Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Prior to founding the ICT Fund, Pande was Managing Director and Head of Private Equity at SBI Ven Capital (formerly Softbank Investments), where he oversaw assets exceeding US$300 million. Earlier in his career he held senior positions at Citigroup and ANZ, and he has also served as a director at LIQVID.

Tembusu ICT Fund I positioned itself as the only venture capital fund in Singapore investing solely in software startups, and was one of just six funds selected by Singapore's National Research Foundation (NRF) under the Early Stage Venture Fund (ESVF) II co-investment scheme. In 2016, the fund brought on Chinese internet billionaire Pang Shengdong (founder of the 2345.com portal) as a strategic partner to support portfolio companies' expansion in Southeast Asia. Pande represents the fund publicly at technology and venture forums and serves on the boards of several portfolio companies, including Deskera, KaHa, Sixscape, and Taiger.

• Software only, Asia only: "We only invest in software companies in Asia," emphasizing businesses with "unique and defensible technology."
• Deliberately avoids consumer internet: "We have made a conscious decision not to invest in digital consumer or consumer internet, where the barriers to entry are largely a function of scale."
• Enterprise / deep tech bias: Focus on enterprise software, AI, analytics, and cybersecurity — segments he argues offer defensibility even if they "do not promise heady returns."
• Stage: Early-stage, with a stated view that Series A/B is the largest funding gap in South/Southeast Asia.
• Hands-on value-add: Beyond capital, the fund offers a dedicated in-house CTO for technical architecture, operating partners with software-scaling experience, and access to corporate/enterprise networks.
• Selective: By 2016 the fund had evaluated 90+ startups since May 2015 and invested in only a handful — signaling a high bar.