Five major private capital associations across Southeast Asia have launched the Maturation Map, a regionally coordinated blueprint to raise governance standards in the startup ecosystem. This initiative comes as the region grapples with multiple cases of financial mismanagement and fraud.
This collective action, led by the Singapore Venture and Private Capital Association (SVCA), with contributions from Amvesindo (Indonesia), TVCA (Thailand), VPCA (Vietnam), and MVCA (Malaysia), covers practical recommendations for founders, investors, advisors, and regulators.
The recommendations are tailored to different stages of company maturity, from pre-revenue startups to late-stage firms preparing for public listing.
“Southeast Asia’s private investment landscape is still young and learning. The Maturation Map, with involvement from the largest investment associations across the region representing hundreds of members, is a sign of the collective will and approach we can take to improving governance for better investment returns,” said Shane Chesson, Vice-Chair of the SVCA and Founding Partner of Openspace, in a statement.
The move comes on the heels of several high-profile governance scandals involving eFishery, Zilingo, Investree, Tanihub, JobHopin, and PayMongo, among others. The cases exposed gaps in financial oversight, due diligence, and ethical conduct in Southeast Asia’s fast-growing private markets. While these cases represent a minority, they have cast a shadow over the broader ecosystem, undermining investor confidence and capital formation.
“This report reflects a collective commitment to raising the bar for governance across Southeast Asia,” said Thanapong Na Ranong, President of Thailand Venture Capital Association, TVCA.
The blueprint aims to address this trust deficit by providing a five-pillar framework for better governance. These include active diligence; use of technology for real-time financial oversight; enhanced advisor ecosystems; stronger frameworks in audit functions and disclosures; and enforcement by legal follow-up on misconduct and cross-border fraud recovery.
The document includes practical tools such as a governance and financial maturity matrix, whistleblower policy templates, and case-based learning. It also proposes cost-sharing mechanisms among VCs and advisors to reduce the financial burden of compliance, especially for early-stage companies.
“We want this guide to be more than just a paper,” said Eddi Danusaputro, Chairman of Indonesia’s Amvesindo and CEO at BNI Ventures. “It’s a starting point for continuous, collaborative improvement. We invite all stakeholders—from startups and VCs to regulators and advisors—to engage, adopt, and build on this framework together.”
The Maturation Map is described as a “living document”—designed for continual updates through industry feedback and evolving market realities. Future actions include board training programmes, industry roundtables, and an open-source governance “playbook” to ensure widespread adoption.
“Good governance shouldn’t stop after due diligence,” said Ng Sai Kit, Chairman of MVCA. “It needs to be part of how a company runs and grows.”
Vy Le, Chairwoman of Vietnam’s VPCA, noted: “Vietnam’s startup ecosystem is growing quickly—and we want to build that growth on trust.”
