About Us

Progress manages its own funds in public and private equity markets and has been allocating to early stage funds and raising assets for funds. It has strong relationships with lawyers/advisors, audit firms, fund administrators and other service providers. Vikas Gattani is the founder and CEO of Progress Asia Capital & Advisors Pte Ltd.

Founder & CEO

Vikas launched Progress Capital Asia fund in 2007 focused on investing in Asian equities markets and over time focused on Indian equities with a dedicated India fund viz Progress India Opportunities Fund which was launched in 2014.

He is an industry veteran possessing 32+ years of rich experience investing in the region across various asset classes and investment strategies, encompassing the added disciplines of running funds management businesses.

Before he branched out with his own funds management business, Vikas was CIO for Asia Pacific for JP Morgan’s internal hedge fund group. Prior to that, he was Head of Proprietary Equities for Asia with Merrill Lynch based out of Hong Kong. Vikas has had significant success as a consistent revenue generator with various investment banks and managed teams of highly talented investment professionals with a range of investment strategies during his career.

Vikas is also a member of Board of Governors at Anand Singapore International School, Chennai and sits on the Board of “Enabling Leadership” foundation. He is also a guest lecturer at NUS Business School.

Vikas has a MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, and a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Mumbai.

Director, AETP1 VCC

With 15+ years experience as a  seasoned ESG advisor and energy transition expert, at the nexus of finance and Asia’s energy transition, Lawrence serves as Director on AETP 1 VCC. He is also the founder and Partner at Climate Smart Ventures, a Singapore-based transaction advisory firm specializing in harnessing the full spectrum of finance to deliver capital market-driven solutions that retire fossil fuel-fired plants and replace them with renewables in the context of a rapidly growing Asia. Prior to this role, he has served as a Senior Advisor for a range of Fortune 500 companies, family offices, and development projects in Asia and Africa cutting across themes such as clean energy, fisheries, innovative financing, SME development, and digital inclusion. To date, Lawrence has the unique achievement of having led transactions that have resulted in early coal plant retirement, blended finance facilities, and award-winning partnerships, that have altogether unlocked over USD 500M in sustainable investments.

Lawrence completed his EMBA from the Asian Institute of Management, and has diplomas on Behavioral Finance from Yale University, and Experimental Design for Business Innovation from the Stockholm School of Economics. He finished his undergraduate studies with a specialization in natural resources management from the Australian National University.

Senior Associate

With 5+ years of work experience, Hikmet is a senior analyst with Progress Asia Capital. He has worked at Insitor in venture equity and impact investing in three venture capital funds totalling approximately USD 100 million in AUM with focus on SE Asia and South Asia . He also led fund raising efforts for an impact focused venture capital fund.  Prior to Insitor, Hikmet garnered private credit and fintech experience at a Fintech fund.

Hikmet attained his PhD degree in Materials Science and Engineering from National University of Singapore in 2019, specializing in Renewable Energy Materials, with a thesis on Perovskite Photovoltaics. Hikmet has been a CFA Charterholder and remains an active member of the CFA Society Singapore since 2022.

Manager – Finance

With 5+ years of work experience, Rui Yan leads finance and compliance functions at Progress Asia Capital. Prior to Progress, she was a Senior Associate in the Financial Services Assurance team at PwC Singapore, with experience in audit of clients in the Asset & Wealth Management sector and digital transformation projects.

Rui Yan holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance) from the University of Melbourne, and a Master of Commerce (Business Analytics) from the University of New South Wales Sydney. She is a member of CPA Australia.