The Tamesis
The young venture capitalists and entrepreneurs on this year’s list are helping to fuel the growth of startups by providing access to capital.
I2022 Patrick Nappa worked as a software engineer at Apple in Sydney and, inspired by the company’s famous slogan “Think Different”, teamed up with a banker friend to start a fintech company that provides online loans to small businesses. “I really enjoyed the challenge,” recalls Napa, who studied computer science at the University of Sydney. “I wanted to jump into an area where I wasn’t an expert and just be ‘that guy.'” Now he’s in charge of technology management at Kashcade, which has grown from its initial concept into a niche lender to Australian startups and small businesses, financing them through the R&D tax credit rebates they receive from the government.
Nappa is on this year’s list Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia: Finance and Venture Capital Listthey actively help startups in the Asia-Pacific region grow by providing access to funding.
To promote innovation, Australia allows companies with annual revenue of less than A$20 million a refundable tax credit of up to 43.5% of total annual R&D expenditure. Kashcade unlocks refunds early and issues loans up to 80% of the refund amount. It charges an upfront fee of AU$950 (US$680), with monthly interest of 1.38%. According to Kashcade, the loan is repaid when the tax office deposits the refund into an account it controls. Nappa said it had so far provided $100 million in loans to 200 businesses, including humanoid robot developer Andromeda, the brainchild of Asia’s Top 30 Under 30 2025 figure Grace Brown.
Nappa said Kashcade, which raised $80 million through investor funding and loans, became profitable last year and doubled its revenue every year. The co-founders now plan to offer financial analysis software and hope to expand to other countries.
In neighboring New Zealand, Bex Gidel It’s the principal Igloo Venturesis a venture capital firm focused on local startups with over $1 billion in assets under management. She joined the company as an analyst in 2021 and was promoted to principal in November 2025. Gidel leads the firm’s $25 million climate technology fund and $10 million female founders fund. She has invested $13 million in 21 startups, including energy grid forecasting software provider Factor, digital odor sensor maker Scentian Bio and computer code visualization tool Syntroper. Gidall also leads Arc, a community of female founders and investors dedicated to increasing female participation in the startup ecosystem. She is a board member of Factor and a board observer of Scentian Bio.
Bex Gidall, principal at Icehouse Ventures.
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In Indonesia, Elise Jacelyn Onko is a senior lawyer B Capitalis a venture capital firm co-founded by Facebook co-founder and Singaporean billionaire Eduardo Saverin. Since joining the company in 2024, Jakarta-based Ongko has invested $60 million in three startups: industrial robot developer Eureka Robotics, e-commerce last-mile delivery company Ninja Van and marketing automation software developer MoEngage. Ongko is inspired by her parents, who are both entrepreneurs. Prior to joining B Capital, she worked at KPMG, McKinsey and private equity firm Northstar Group.
Deok Young Bae Leading Ho Chi Minh City’s AI and cybersecurity investments in Southeast Asia and the United States Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG)It is the technology arm of Kasikornbank (KBank), Thailand’s third-largest bank by assets. Bui, who joined KBTG in January 2025, has built a portfolio of cybersecurity companies in New York and the Bay Area, including cloud security developer Zest Security, which automates code-based remediation, security developer Jericho Security, which creates realistic phishing simulations, and cyber resiliency designer Onyxia, which uses AI to optimize security stacks. Bui also helps U.S. portfolio companies expand into Southeast Asia.
In India, Anant Mohtar He is a Mumbai-based partner at MKVentures, the investment firm of veteran equity investor Madhusudan Kela, whose investments include banking, food and beverages, renewable energy and health. Since joining in June 2025, he has been involved in several key transactions, including investments in one of India’s largest alcohol manufacturers and the country’s leading discount brokerage. Previously, Mota worked in Bain Capital’s Asia Pacific private equity team, where in 2023, at the age of 27, he became the firm’s youngest vice president. He began his career as a management consultant at Kearney Corporation.
Anant Mohta, Partner, MKVentures.
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In Korea, Park Jung-eun help start Bolint & Partnersthe startup accelerator arm of Seoul-based BLT Patent & Law Firm, 2025. BLT & Partners has a background in intellectual property and evaluates investments based on the strength of a startup’s intellectual property. The firm has invested in six deep-tech startups so far, including chip designer Morumi, AI-driven on-screen talent matchmaker PLFIL and autonomous drone maker Vololand. In December, BLT joined the Nvidia Inception Alliance, the AI chip giant’s startup support program. Prior to joining BLT & Partners as CEO, Park was an investor at venture capital firm Bridge Investment. She earned a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In Japan, Yasuaki Miyajima is a senior associate in Blackstone’s private equity team based in Tokyo. Since joining in 2021, Miyajima has been involved in some of Japan’s biggest deals. Last year, he played a key role in Blackstone’s $3.5 billion acquisition of engineering staffing firm TechnoPro, the company’s largest-ever investment in Japan. Miyajima holds a law degree from the University of Tokyo and worked at Morgan Stanley before joining Blackstone.
Based in Hong Kong, Jimmy Ng is a senior director at Gobi Partners, an Asian venture capital firm that has backed companies including Airwallex and WeLab. Wu joined the company in 2022 and quickly rose through the ranks, receiving two promotions in three and a half years. He has invested more than $30 million in more than a dozen startups in Hong Kong and China, including a seed round for contactless health monitoring developer PanopticAI (co-founded by 30 Under 30 Asia alumni Kyle Wong and Teric Chan), and construction management company isBIM (on the 2024 100 to Watch list). Ng serves on the boards of PanopticAI, isBIM and ride-sharing app RushOwl.
Read our full Finance and Venture Capital list here – And be sure to check out our full content Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 2026 Coverage here.
