With a spate of niche climate or environment-focused tech startups emerging out of Southeast Asia in the past few years, especially in the last 12 months, investor interest in the sector has picked up. While many of these startups — tackling issues ranging from air pollution to food waste — have seen prominent angel investors backing their pre-seed rounds, few others have managed to get impact venture capital (VC) firms on board as well.
One such player with significant angel backing is Jakarta-based startup Nafas, which is building an ecosystem that helps people breathe easy, quite literally. Its platform combines cloud-based monitoring, filtration and advanced automation to reduce pollution.