[ANNOUNCEMENT] Zelia Leong, Joins Accelerating Asia as Entrepreneur in Residence

We are proud to announce that Zelia Leong has joined Accelerating Asia as our newest Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) and Venture Partner.

Zelia is a proven builder with deep operational and venture experience. She began her journey at Rocket Internet, launching and scaling new ventures, before co-founding and leading a company that evolved across
multiple product lines.

Her first venture, the travel-tech platform Anywhr, introduced a unique approach to travel curation, scaling to design thousands of trips across five continents and earning global recognition on platforms like The New York Times. Anywhr built partnerships with organisations like Singapore Airlines, the Australian Tourism Board, and Oxford University, and was awarded a scholarship for the Google for Startups Accelerator in Silicon Valley.

When the pandemic halted global travel, Zelia led a masterclass in resilience with her co-founder, pivoting the company into PraisePal, a B2B employee-recognition platform now serving global clients including TikTok, Toyota, and Bain & Co. across 27 markets. She also secured investment from leading venture capital funds in San Francisco and Singapore, including Quest Ventures, Hustle Fund, Cocoon Capital, and XA Network, a prominent tech leaders’ investment group.

Her appointment as EIR reflects Accelerating Asia’s core principle: we partner with leaders who have built real companies and navigated complexity through execution. Our portfolio includes over 100 startups across 19 markets. We believe diversity is a source of strength, reflected in the fact that 44.5% of our portfolio companies are female-founded, one of the highest ratios in the region. Leaders like Zelia strengthen that focus, attracting and supporting the next generation of exceptional entrepreneurs.

As EIR, Zelia will work closely with founders to refine products, sharpen fundraising narratives, and scale operations. Her experience on the Board of ACE.SG, helping shape Singapore’s national entrepreneurship strategy, brings a valuable macro-level perspective. Zelia joins us at a pivotal moment as we approach the close of our second fund. Bringing on execution focused leaders like her is central to our mission of being the most trusted partner for founders in the region.

Welcome to the team, Zelia. Let’s get to work. 🚀