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- #39 GKC | eFishery, exposed!
#39 GKC | eFishery, exposed!
eFishery Lesson Learnt, 1st GKC Exit on Impact Debt, 2025 Impact Investing Trends
Nelson Ng
February 17, 2025 • Est. Reading Time: 9 minutes
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Happy Monday! 👋
I had a blast on Valentine’s (it was also my partner’s birthday! So the day was doubly festive) 🥂 How did you spend your weekend?
This week, we’ve some GOOD stuff on:
e-Fishery Scandal Breakdown (Complete Timeline + Most updated)
Our First Exit: LingoTalk's Success through Impact-First Debt
Impact Investing Set for Major Growth in 2025!
📰 GOOD News
1. e-Fishery Scandal Breakdown (Complete Timeline + Most updated)
I did a collaboration with Runway Ventures to write the most comprehensive article on e-Fishery’s massive fraud, with a complete and up-to-date timeline.
For those who don’t know: eFishery, once valued at $1.4 billion, has been exposed for maintaining dual books since their Series A fundraising in 2018, inflating their revenue every year.
Culminating into a whopping 4.8x inflated revenue in 2024, it finally caused a forensic audit that revealed the massive, systemic fraud that’s been happening over 6 years.
🔗 Read the full breakdown: The Dark Secrets Behind eFishery’s $1.4B Collapse
2. Our First Exit: LingoTalk's Success through Impact-First Debt
I'm thrilled to share our first successful exit at GKC through LingoTalk, an Indonesian EdTech revolutionizing English-learning for individuals and enterprises!
When I first met Andre (LingoTalk's CEO) six months ago, they were facing typical early-stage cash flow challenges despite being profitable.
With a US$50,000 impact-first debt investment over 6 months, we've helped them achieve remarkable growth: 3x revenue growth, 1.5x profit margin increase year-over-year, and impact on over 5,000 young professionals.
Finally, they've also secured a $500k fundraising round to propel them even more!
This validates our model of impact-first investing and doing debt financing.
🔗 Read more about my breakdown + my investment thesis here!
3. Impact Investing Set for Major Growth in 2025!
The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) has revealed promising trends that align perfectly with what we're seeing on the ground: Their latest report shows 43% of investors planning to increase emerging market allocations, while 89% of Asia-focused investors are seeing returns met or exceed expectations.
The industry is particularly gaining momentum in climate solutions, blended finance, and catalytic capital deployment. With Asian markets showing exceptional promise and $38 billion USD in impact AUM across 68 Asia-focused investors, we're witnessing the start of a significant market acceleration!
🔗 Source: GIIN
GOOD Key Takeaways:
Trust is Everything. The eFishery fraud case has become a catalyst for stronger governance standards and better due diligence practices in SEA's startup ecosystem.
Impact-First Debt Works! Our experience with LingoTalk proves how alternative financing can help profitable impact companies scale while maintaining their mission.
Impact Capital is Growing Strong. With increasing investor interest and proven returns, impact investing is becoming a mainstream investment strategy in Asia.
Other News:
💁♀️ GOOD Opportunities
🚀 Malmö Residency | Due Feb 27
Fully-funded 1-month residency program for non-profit leaders globally
🚀 Polymath Fellowship | Due Mar 4
The world’s first human accelerator
🚀 Blue Carbon+ by Hatch | Due Apr 1
$50k grant for blue carbon coastal restoration projects globally
Hire the highest quality overseas talent with Oceans.
Our offshore talent has more impressive resumes than your employees. Seriously.
Most outsourced firms can’t source the type of EA who can work with a $100M executive, but Oceans can. Our EAs take over all of your backend admin and operational work, so you can focus on what actually matters: scaling your business.
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❤️ Great Content You’ll Like …
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👍 How I Can Help
Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can be helpful:
GKC Invest
Join our invite-only impact investing club on private credit deals in SEA.
GKC Fractional CFO
Support on monthly financial reporting, capital strategy and fundraising advisory.
GKC Impact Program
Curate impact-focused programs for corporates (i.e. accelerators, deal flows).
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