Nick Ponomarev is a Senior Investment Analyst at ORBIT Startups, with 3 years of experience in early-stage venture capital leading Fintech, E-commerce, Mobility, AI, and Healthcare industries in Southeast Asia, India, and the MENA region. He manages a $18M+ portfolio (worth of $362M), operating as a Strategy Lead and interim CFO, driving growth, enhancing strategic fundraising efforts, and securing funding for impact-driven companies for 17 companies under management. Passionate about developing the next generation of entrepreneurs and impactful initiatives worldwide, Nick is a part of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers community in Shanghai, China. He holds a BA in Business Administration from Shanghai University and has a background in physics and engineering from a leading Moscow institution. Positions: Senior Investment Analyst at SOSV (2024 - Present), Investment Analyst at SOSV (2023 - 2024), Investment Specialist at SOSV (2022 - 2023), Bridging Patients and Research - Enhancing Patients Recruitment for Innovative Drug Development at World Economic Forum (2024 - Present), Investment Analyst at SOSV (2021 - 2022), Strategy Analyst at Nexcelia Solutions B.V. (2021 - 2021), Startup Accelerator Program Analyst at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics (2016 - 2016) Skills: Equity Research, Venture Capital, Business Analysis, Project Management, Due Diligence, Cross-border, Investment Research, Customer Development, Business Acceleration, Startup Development, Program Analysis, User Interviews, Market Research, Data Analysis, Investment Strategies, Market Entry, Problem Solving, Detail Oriented, Communication Skills, Analytical Thinking, Research, Social Media, Design, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Leadership, Strategy, Design Thinking Recent Posts: Great initiative by Adham Sameh! Was a great opportunity to evaluate and give feedback to the world's best talents from MIT, Stanford, Oxford, Berkeley, and Tsinghua and their projects in the AI space, alongside other top investors from Plug and Play Middle East, Salica Investments, Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, Plug and Play Africa and Access Bridge Ventures! Here are my 2 recent investments in my ORBIT portfolio - Ridelink Inc.(East Africa) and Payd (SEA). Both companies participated in our ORBIT 7 Investor Week in Dubai. And here is what they do: Payd: Payd tackles a critical issue affecting 170 million blue-collar workers in Southeast Asia: financial vulnerability due to limited access to safe, affordable credit options. With informal debt accounting for 10% of Thailand's GDP, Payd's Earned Wage Access (EWA) solution offers a lifeline. Payd’s halal financing platform allows employees to access their earned wages instantly, without loans or advance. By partnering with employers, Payd guarantees collection through paychecks, eliminating credit risk. Payd's proprietary technology enables rapid implementation, onboarding enterprises in just two weeks – 10 weeks faster than competitors. Expanding beyond EWA, Payd now offers earned commission access and solutions for gig workers, providing a full-stack solution that significantly reduces employers' administrative burden. With 70+ clients including McDonald's, Marriott Group, and Starbucks across Malaysia and Thailand, Payd has shown impressive growth, growing by 15% month-on-month EWA book growth in Q3, achieving millions in monthly EWA book, and 20,000+ platform users. Led by CEO Darvesh Daswani, with 10 years in HR-focused sales who grew Yapily’s business 3x and the team 5x from 12 to 60 team members in less than a year, and CTO 💸 Paul Martin, former principal engineer at Wagestream. Payd is backed and supported by Top-Tier Investors: IFS Capital Limited, Antler, 1982 Ventures, Digital Currency Group, high-net-worth angel investors, and now Orbit Startups.  ______________________ Ridelink Inc.: Ridelink is tackling a critical challenge in Africa: small businesses pay up to 4 times more for logistics than large corporations, hindering their competitiveness. Ridelink’s innovative platform connects SMEs to a vast network of trusted transporters, offering affordable and reliable freight services across urban and rural Africa. By leveraging IoT technology and data-driven approaches, Ridelink provides real-time tracking, route optimization, and quality assurance, reducing logistics costs by up to 30%. Ridelink’s extensive service area and strict standards set the company apart from competitors, especially international shippers. With 3,000+ business clients, a 96% retention rate, and hundreds in monthly GMV, Ridelink already saved clients over $4.5 million in transport costs. The company's impressive 300% month-on-month user growth also demonstrates its rapid expansion. Led by Forbes 30 Under 30 lister Daniel Mukisa and experienced CTO Amon Nyesigye, the team combines logistics expertise with cutting-edge technology skills. Ridelink is backed and supported by Alibaba Group Jack Ma Foundation Fund, Morgan Stanley, Google, Omidyar Network, African Leadership Academy's Young Entrepreneurs Fund, Ortus Africa Capital, and now Orbit Startups. As a part of the World Economic Forum - Global Shapers, I’m starting a new project in Bridging Patients and Research - Enhancing Patients Recruitment for Innovative Drug Development at the World Economic Forum! Learn more on my page! This month, I had the privilege of serving as a judge at the Expand North Star Supernova Pitch Competition by GITEX GLOBAL Largest Tech & Startup Show in the World, where I witnessed remarkable innovation from startups across the globe. This year's competition featured over 90 startups from more than 30 countries, each bringing unique solutions to the table. As a judge, I was impressed by the creativity and determination of these entrepreneurs. The competition highlighted the importance of fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem, and I am excited to see how these ventures will shape the future of technology and business. Thank you to the organizers for this incredible opportunity, judges I had the privilege to share a stage with - Bejin Thomas, Ben M. and Elisabetta S., and congratulations to all participants! I'm looking forward to seeing who will advance to the finals at Expand North Star 2024. Let's continue supporting and empowering innovators around the world! #SupernovaPitch #GITEX #ExpandNorthStar2024 #StartupCompetition #Innovation #TechStartups #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #GlobalStartups #PitchCompetition #FutureOfTech #DubaiTech #InvestInInnovation https://lnkd.in/gGrRtAVw Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, GITEX GLOBAL Largest Tech & Startup Show in the World, Dubai Harbour. This August, I got invited by my close friend at Tusholdings to an incredible opportunity to participate in the C-Star Event organized by CMPort (China Merchants Group) in Beijing, where I delivered a speech to African startups on why we at ORBIT believe that the biggest opportunity ahead is the technology-driven development of emerging and frontier markets and how we support best entrepreneurs across the world. This isn't my first engagement with Africa-related events. In June, I connected with inspiring individuals in the China startup ecosystem and shared insights at the Vodacom Digital Accelerator China Camp, focusing on entrepreneurs from Tanzania. I also had the honor of attending Alibaba Group Africa's Business Heroes in Hangzhou, where I met industry leaders and amazing startups to foster opportunities for startups across the Francophone region. At C-STAR, I had an amazing time engaging with aspiring entrepreneurs from Africa, providing mentorship and sharing insights to help them navigate their entrepreneurial journeys. It was inspiring to witness their passion and creativity, reinforcing my commitment to supporting innovation in Africa. A big thank you to the CMPort (China Merchants Group) and Tusholdings for this fantastic opportunity! Together, we can empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and drive meaningful change in our communities. Let's continue to collaborate and support the African landscape! #Entrepreneurship #AfricanStartups #EmergingMarkets #SupportingEntrepreneurs #AfricaRising #AfricanEntrepreneurs I want to extend my gratitude to my exceptional interns, Athar Ali and Derek Fong, who recently finished their internships at ORBIT, working closely with me. Working with both of you has been an absolute pleasure, and I am truly grateful for the immense value you have brought to our team. From deal sourcing and fundraising to portfolio management and research, you have consistently exceeded my expectations, showcasing your potential for a successful career in the venture capital industry. From my personal experience, for people who are usually first-generation immigrants in their family, it’s a big challenge to secure internships or full-time opportunities in such quite close-circle industries as venture capital. You typically don’t have enough network and resources to land such opportunities. That's why giving opportunities and support to the best, proactive, and truly grinding candidates is very important. Thank you, Athar Ali and Derek Fong, for your invaluable contributions. I wish you both the very best in your future endeavors, and I have no doubt that you will continue to excel in your chosen paths. You are the future, and I am honored to have played a part in your growth and development. Stepping up in times of crisis: How a supply chain optimization startup is keeping communities stable. 🚚 Small shops and neighborhood merchants in Bangladesh are the backbone of their communities, ensuring access to food, daily essentials, and supplies. These small businesses account for 97% of the country’s consumption and are often the only source for daily needs, especially during times of crisis. These merchants are more than just points of transaction—they represent trust, familiarity, and support in their communities, offering credit options and driving local employment and economic growth. The ongoing political crisis has highlighted the growing challenges in Bangladesh's retail sector. Fragmented supply chains have created inefficiencies, disrupting the distribution of essentials—especially when people had limited hours to shop. PriyoShop (Orbit 2022)- a B2B marketplace empowering MSMEs by connecting them directly to suppliers- stepped up to address this gap. By leveraging technology, they’re solving problems in traditional industries and maintaining a seamless supply chain for these vital shops. PriyoShop’s efforts ensured the availability of essential items like rice, lentils, flour, salt, sugar, and cooking oil, all while prioritizing safety to protect the community. Orbit is proud to back companies like PriyoShop that empower small businesses and maintain community stability. Read more about how Priyoshop is transforming Bangladesh’s retail sector here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gdhZHJmr Asikul Alam Khan William Bao Bean Oscar Ramos Jong Wan Brian Lee Nick Ponomarev #emergingmarkets, #startups #investors #SupplyChain #CommunitySupport #Bangladesh #SmallBusinesses #PriyoShop #CrisisManagement #Innovation June'24 was full of meetings with amazing people in the China startup and investment ecosystem! In Beijing, had a chance to finally meet in person with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) team - Azamat O. and Julian Su 徐伟龙, having a great conversation with Philip Beck - 贝曦贤 , Louise DANG from Antler, Demi Ping from Abu Dhabi Investment Office , Xuan Guo from SenseTime 商汤科技 and Zhejun Eunice Wang from Tencent! As well as to spend a great week with Ricardo Moreira 李卡多, Richard Gray, Stacey-Ann Pearson, Lester Chan, Stanley Ying, Phillip Forman, Kenmaru Suedomi, Erika Gherardi and Olesia Ermakova 奥莉 (organized by Tencent)! Then, flying to Shenzhen to meet the Tusholdings team and speak at Vodacom Digital Accelerator China Camp at the African Tech Innovation Workshop for entrepreneurs from Tanzania (thank you, Renee Pan, for the invite). Overall, capturing amazing insights of China's capital, incubators, and companies' strategies for going global in the near future! More meetings are coming in Shanghai with some key startups and VC leaders! Thanks again to all the people who hosted me and committed their time to amazing conversations! Looking forward to meeting again in Beijing, Shenzhen, or Shanghai! Came to Beijing for THINC Fellowship Future Close Up Tour, sponsored by Tencent, where THINC takes 30+people (coming from all over the world) through Beijing, Shenyang and Xiongan to visit IT companies HQs, incubation centers, industrial parks, startup areas, and provincial leaders. First day was at Tencent HQ learning about business lines of the company, and following the Q&A session with Tencent team leads managing the recent tech developments in urban management, healthcare, mobile and AI. Overall, a lot of info to observe but good value (especially the Q&A session). As we depart to Shenyang for the next thing, I'm grateful for THINC’s invite to join the tour and go behind the scenes with one of the world's tech giants. An inspiring look at the technologies shaping our future. Happy to meet with people within my network in Beijing in the second week of June! I am coming to #Beijing as a part of the THINC Fellowship (powered by Tencent and Viva la Vida) program for a global community of young leaders who are driving a positive impact on the world and society through technology! THINC organizes meetings and networking with Chinese tech industry leaders, senior management of tech companies, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and representatives of international organizations in China in Beijing, Shenyang, and Xiong'an with visits to key tech hubs, leading incubators, and science parks in Northern China! Recently had a chance to attend an amazing Alibaba event in Hangzhou - Africa's Business Heroes (run by Jack Ma Foundation) by a personal invite of the Chari | YC S21 | Ecom and Fintech apps for retailers in Francophone Africa CEO - Ismael Belkhayat (a recent investment I have managed) that will open doors and opportunities for more startups in Morocco and outside of Morocco to scale across the Francophone region! Great chance to build personal relationships with people from Alibaba Group who drive initiatives in Africa, successful CEOs like Ismael and Tesh Mbaabu (from Marketforce), as well as to hear investors like Jerry (Jinguang) Yang from Roselake Ventures (with whom we share Treepz and Swag Kicks), Wen Yu from Transsion, Will Wang from BAI Capital and others! Btw, Weego Saad JITTOU and Sælma Damouh, you are the next people I can't wait to meet! UAE was full of meetings with amazing people in the ecosystem! Had a chance to finally meet in person with Siddharth Havaldar, Aly Khairy, Syed Wajahat Karim, Yomna Abousamra, Gaelle Yammine, Yousif Damirji, Atif Bin Arif عاطف بن عارف, Rabih I. Khoury, Nikolai Denisov, Shaz K., Anastasia Gurkina, Fahed Qteishat, Ahmed Eid, and Ankit Upadhyay! Thank you very much for your support! Big thanks to Cypher Capital Group and especially Sumeet Surana for being our partners for our ORBIT 6 Demo Day! Big thanks to Narine Davtian and Avag Simonyan for inviting me to the Triple S Ventures event in Dubai - amazing to chat about Armenia and looking forward to coming to your July event! Was also amazing to spend some time in Abu Dhabi at the Hub71 event and catch up with May Quadarella, as well as to come to the #step2024 to meet with a lot of cool startups and investors. And of course, as always, the best team ever from Orbit Startups - William Bao Bean, Oscar Ramos, Ching-Ping Lin, Shenali De Silva and Aditya Kathpalia! Coming to Dubai (Feb 19th-23rd). Will be hosting some investor-related activities on the side of the STEP conference. Happy to meet on the sidelines but best just to come to our Demo Day venue (Feb 22nd), which is next to STEP. Cheers! Note that registration is required because it's an investors-only event: Coming to Dubai (Feb 19th-23rd). Will be hosting some investor-related activities on the side of the STEP conference. Happy to meet on the sidelines but best just to come to our Demo Day venue (Feb 22nd), which is next to STEP. Cheers! 📣📣 Call for applications from breakthrough Bangladeshi startups! SM² propels high-potential Bangladeshi startups to industry leaders who can redefine Bangladesh’s economy. Companies with strong cross-border expansion potential and female founders especially encouraged to apply. The program will provide five startups with financial support, mentorship, investor connections and access to an extensive network of partners to support expansion across Asia. SM² Accelerate is a partnership between Orbit, SBK Tech Ventures and MIAKI. 👉 Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gWxaENqU #bangladesh #startups Hiruy Ephrem Farhan Rahman Taneem Islam Taro Araya Oscar Ramos Sonia Bashir Kabir Kaha Gogiashvili 郭凯赫 Nick Ponomarev William Bao Bean Heading to a new year with amazing people I had a chance to meet during my vacation! Just wanted to highlight and thank again Alex Miller, Rich Robinson, Dean H. Diabate , Ian Sullivan 宋仡文, Douglas Corley, Florian B. , Hugo Messer, Sebastian Lau, Verdian Jonazh, Okki Soebagio, Daria Petrenko, Pavel Hegai, Alex Samson, Andrey Konyushkevich and Pavel Veselovskiy for your willingness to support and looking forward for our future conversations! For a newcomer and a young generation representative in this industry your willingness and commitment mean a lot! Congrats to Soumajit Bhowmik and Durga Dash founders of Orbit Startups backed Styched for their acquisition of Zymrat, their second acquisition this year. We are seeing a lot of activity on the buy side from our portfolio this year. A few transactions already announced publicly and way more to come. Companies with positive unit economics that streamlined their operations have managed to not only survive but grow during the last year. That work on "nail it before you scale it" is the cornerstone of our support with portfolio companies before we turn on user and customer acquisition channels. Looking forward to what the last quarter of 2024 will bring ahead! Orbit Startups backed D2C platform - Styched, Acquires Shark Tank India 2 Fame D2C Brand Flatheads! Check out our new Orbit 4 cohort companies on our Dubai Demo Day next week! (In person or virtual) Companies from India, Colombia, USA, UAE, Thailand & HK, Nigeria, and Singapore working in Climate Tech and Sustainability, E-commerce and Transportation Tech, Digital Health, Fintech, SMEs SaaS, Media, and Web3. #dubai #uae #sustainability #venturecapital #emergingmarkets #digitalhealth #fintech #smes #web3 Congrats to OkayKer from your Orbit Startups family in closing US$700k seed round in a rough and tumble market. It’s all about positive unit economics! Nashit Naviwala, Hasnain Akber and Anusha Shahid showing true grit! Welcome Cur8 Capital, Sabr Capital and FRIM Ventures https://lnkd.in/gUEy8_Bv #startups #pakistan #emergingmarkets #funding Issue 2 of Nick's "VCCOM" Newsletter is out! Topics I have covered: 1. Trends / Markets Dynamics: South Asia Ecosystem: - (Pakistan) Effect of the 3-day Internet blackout in Pakistan on startups, the government, and society. - (India) India’s first generative AI hackathon - top 5 projects Middle East Ecosystem: - (Saudi Arabia) Meta's cable goal "to connect 3 continents'  marks its dive into Middle Eastern waters. North Africa Ecosystem: - Africa’s B2B e-commerce startups are struggling to survive (featuring comments from DFS Lab GP and Chari CEO) - Nigeria’s new blockchain policy leaves crypto in the cold (featuring INTERPOL's first-ever Global Crime Trend Summary Report) China Ecosystem: - LinkedIn's InCareer (China product) to shut down and eliminate up to 4% of its entire workforce. LATAM Ecosystem: - A significant drop in startup investment in Latin America and recommendations to Founders 2. Deep Dive:  - The Current State of APAC VC and Recommendations to Founders (by Justin Hall - Partner at Golden Gate Ventures) 3. Reports - Africa Mobile App Market (84 pages) - (UAE) CRYPTO OASIS Ecosystem (292 pages) - (Indonesia) “Why Indonesia is the next China for Tech Investment” - opinion by AC Partners Managing Partner Helen Wong. 4. New opportunities: New funds/programs  - (UAE) Free co-working space for Web-3 startups now opens at Jumeirah Beach Residence Upcoming Events  - (Malaysia) Tech In Asia - (Vietnam) M Venture Partners - (UAE) Seamless - (Africa) Gitex Africa #pakistan #ai  #africa #funding #crypto #founders #uae #web3 #startups #linkedin #events #tech Issue 1 of Nick's "VCCOM" Newsletter #startups, #fundraising, #venturecapital, #SEA, #MENA, #earlystage SOSV (Orbit Startups, HAX, IndieBio) has been named by MAGNiTT in their 2023 Emerging Venture Markets report as the most active investor in #Pakistan! Orbit Startups endeavors to invest in Pakistan, and our General Partner and Managing Director William Bao Bean has been interviewed by Al Jazeera Media Network and Dawn Media Group where he explains the motive behind: “When I started covering China internet in 2003, the total valuations of all the startups was $3 billion. My goal was to help Jack Ma explain Alibaba Group, the business-to-business (B2B) marketplace, to global investors for its initial public offering. Since then, the sector’s market cap has risen to $2.5 trillion. "Pakistan today is $3 billion, so I am hoping for something similar. We focus on the mid to lower-income market in Pakistan and want to provide services that change lives." Grateful for the recognition by MAGNiTT and we look forward to continuing our efforts in supporting the startup ecosystem in Pakistan, as well as other emerging and frontier markets around the globe! #WeAreSOSV #emergingmarkets #frontiermarkets #southasia #asia #vc #startups #investing CB Insights has released the State of Venture report of 2022 with numerous SOSV highlights: - SOSV named the top global investor by company count in Q4 2022 - SOSV named the top VC investor globally by company count in Q4 2022 - SOSV named the top US investor by company count in Q4 2022 - SOSV tied as the top investor into Retail Tech companies in Q4 2022 - SOSV tied for third top investor into Digital Health companies in Q4 2022 And some additional SOSV company highlights include: - Adore Me highlighted amongst the Global Top M&A Exits of Q4 2022 - Getaround highlighted amongst the Global Top SPACs in Q4 2022 - NotCo’s Series D highlighted amongst the top LatAm & Caribbean equity deals We are so proud to be a part of these achievements. Look forward to continuing our mission of empowering our communities in emerging and frontier #markets in 2023! William Bao Bean Oscar Ramos Ching-Ping Lin TR Harrington Jenne Wong Minjia Wu Sean O'Sullivan Ned Desmond #vc #startups #WeAreSOSV #investors #global #investment #fundraising #company #tech #retail #digitalhealth Source: https://lnkd.in/gTNPskRV Found this a few days ago. https://lnkd.in/gPhkKwA #nice In love with these polaroid photos from 2021 National Business Elite Challenge Competition & International Economics and Trade Exhibition Competition Finals organized by CCPIT. 2nd place btw... among 2000 participants from 200 teams from 140 universities from all over China. Strategy 2021 - 2024. The report will include an overview of the US macro situation, the US political situation and its impact on the economy and stock market, the political situation in China, the aggregate economic situation in the US and other countries, an overview of conservative and emerging sectors and companies, vaccination forecasts for 2021, US and Russian stock market forecasts for 2021 and risks to the US stock market and economy for 2021. This document is a collection of both my thoughts and visions, as well as the thoughts of other analysts whose opinions I trust. This report will NOT offer ready-made portfolios, or calculations on how to build a final portfolio based on expected portfolio returns, risk ratios, volatility, or other values, respectively. Strategy is available here: https://lnkd.in/gxC4_qd #strategy #investmentplan #investing #economy #investments #markets #finance Strategy 2021 - 2024. The report will include an overview of the US macro situation, the US political situation and its impact on the economy and stock market, the political situation in China, the aggregate economic situation in the US and other countries, an overview of conservative and emerging sectors and companies, vaccination forecasts for 2021, US and Russian stock market forecasts for 2021 and risks to the US stock market and economy for 2021. This document is a collection of both my thoughts and visions, as well as the thoughts of other analysts whose opinions I trust. This report will NOT offer ready-made portfolios, or calculations on how to build a final portfolio based on expected portfolio returns, risk ratios, volatility, or other values, respectively. Strategy is available here: https://lnkd.in/gxC4_qd #strategy #investmentplan #investing #economy #investments #markets #finance