2023.06.08
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Courtney Powell
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Introducing Mei Chel Tan as Partner at 500 Global. Image Credit: Minnie Ang
We’re thrilled to announce Mei Chel Tan’s elevation to Partner at 500 Global.
Mei Chel leads strategy for our expansion into new markets, through establishing early stage funds and programs which are developed exclusively for the needs of the market and its founders, in partnership with governments, institutional investors and corporates. Alongside this, she oversees our Market Strategy team, which executes on these efforts, our Manager Selection team, which recruits our next generation of senior investment talent globally, and our Market Launch team, which deploys our programs around the world.
Mei Chel joined 500 Global in 2016 as Corporate Counsel for Asia Pacific, facilitating closing of substantial new capital with sovereign and institutional partners, and overseeing our investments across 12 countries. She helped launch 500 Global’s first growth stage SPVs and single-LP funds, demonstrating the firm’s ability to offer select access to opportunities within its portfolio and to partner with strategic investors on bespoke mandates. She is a strong thought-partner who produces goal-oriented outcomes that support a range of stakeholders.
Prior to 500 Global, Mei Chel worked with Pre-Seed to Series B technology companies and founders on investment structuring, secondary sales, exits, and geographical expansions across Southeast Asia. She is a qualified lawyer, having started her career at a global law firm working with European, American and Asian institutional clients on structuring investment products, and with Fortune 500 clients on investments matters including operational formation, joint ventures and governmental engagements.
Her leadership will enhance our push as we continue to establish our global, multistage strategy. For more than a decade, 500 Global has been investing in emerging markets around the world. Our approach is to identify regions with nascent and emerging startup ecosystems and double down where we observe strong innate demographics in population and GDP, and drive towards technological innovation from policy makers and consumers. Most importantly, we seek growing ecosystems of creative and resilient founders who are looking to solve big challenges through technology.
We believe these innovative founders and the ecosystems they’ll be driving, will be spread across a select group of 25 fast growing economies which include countries such as Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, UAE, Brazil and more. By 2027, our research suggests that these economies will be larger than both the U.S. and China combined. As such, our efforts will be focussed in these places because their consumers are younger, they’re more socially connected than ever before, and policy makers in those countries are eager to drive economic growth. These factors, plus well timed and deployed capital, give us confidence in our approach. Mei Chel’s appointment to Partner, her experience, and continued guidance will support 500 Global’s drive to invest for the next decade of innovation.
2. AS OF 30 JUNE 2023 AND INCLUDES PRIVATE, PUBLIC AND EXITED COMPANIES. FOR EXITED POSITIONS, VALUATION DATE IS DATE OF EXIT. THESE FIGURES ARE ESTIMATES, AGGREGATED ACROSS ALL PORTFOLIO COMPANIES HELD ACROSS ALL FUNDS ADVISED BY 500 STARTUPS MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC AND ITS AFFILIATES, AND ARE BASED ON INTERNAL DATA THAT HAS NOT BEEN EXTERNALLY VERIFIED AND RELIES ON PORTFOLIO INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY EXTERNAL SOURCES WHICH HAS NOT BEEN VERIFIED, MAY NOT BE ACCURATE OR UPDATED. THESE VALUATIONS ARE ESTIMATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH 500 GLOBAL’S VALUATION POLICY. SEE 500.CO/COMPANIES FOR A FULL LIST OF PORTFOLIO COMPANIES. PAST PERFORMANCE DOES NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE RETURNS. PORTFOLIO COMPANIES DISPLAYED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL INVESTMENTS IN VEHICLES MANAGED BY 500 STARTUPS MANAGEMENT COMPANY, L.L.C. (TOGETHER WITH ITS AFFILIATES, “500 GLOBAL”) AND THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT THE INVESTMENTS WILL BE PROFITABLE OR THAT OTHER INVESTMENTS MADE IN THE FUTURE WILL HAVE SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS OR RESULTS. THIS LIST INCLUDES CURRENT AND FORMER 500 GLOBAL PORTFOLIO COMPANIES WHICH HAVE BEEN ACQUIRED AS WELL AS COMPANIES WHICH HAVE UNDERGONE AN INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING. THIS LIST IS UPDATED PERIODICALLY AND AS SUCH MAY NOT REFLECT RECENT 500 GLOBAL INVESTMENTS. PAST RESULTS OF 500 GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, POOLED INVESTMENT VEHICLES, OR INVESTMENT STRATEGIES ARE NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. NO CONTENT ON THIS PAGE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS AN OFFER TO SELL OR SOLICITATION OF INTEREST TO PURCHASE ANY SECURITIES, CONSTRUCTED AS FUND MARKETING MATERIALS BY PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS CONSIDERING AN INVESTMENT INTO ANY 500 GLOBAL FUND, OR USED AS THE BASIS FOR ANY INVESTMENT DECISIONS. ALL LOGOS, NAMES, AND TRADEMARKS OF THIRD PARTIES REFERENCED HEREIN ARE THE TRADEMARKS AND LOGOS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. ANY INCLUSION OF SUCH TRADEMARKS OR LOGOS DOES NOT IMPLY OR CONSTITUTE ANY APPROVAL, ENDORSEMENT OR SPONSORSHIP OF 500 GLOBAL BY SUCH OWNERS.
3. AS OF 30 JUNE 2023. INCLUDES LOCATION OF EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS AND CONSULTANTS.