Venture Capitalists Are Pouring Millions Into Vietnam’s E-Commerce Startups

OnPoint, a Vietnam-based e-commerce solution partner, recently announced it had bagged $50 million Series B funding led by SeaTown Private Capital Master Fund, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings and managed by SeaTown Holdings International (SeaTown).

The new funding will advance the startup’s best-in-class omnichannel marketing and sales solutions to serve brands and consumers better. The partnership will also allow them to tap into SeaTown’s vast networks and experience in the digital economy and consumer sectors across Southeast Asia and globally.

OnPoint Founder and Chief Executive Officer Tran Vu Quang said they would continue expanding its e-commerce enabling ecosystem, strengthening talents and capabilities, and developing emerging technologies with a data-driven approach.

The CEO noted that its vision is to ultimately become a platform that impacts all Southeast Asia’s e-commerce economy participants, from brand owners, merchants, and service providers to consumers, generating values for its employees and shareholders.

OnPoint invests in technology and has built the strongest team in the market with outstanding e-commerce expertise and passion for serving clients since 2017. They provide complete one-stop solutions and data-driven products with continuous innovations to empower businesses to unlock digital market growth potential.

E-commerce is the top industry for startups in Vietnam

The new multi-million dollar investment poured into e-commerce startup OnPoint further proves how massive the industry has become in Vietnam.

Earlier this month, global startup ecosystem and research center StartupBlink released a list of the ‘Best Countries for Startups in 2022’ in the Southeast Asian region, putting Vietnam in 5th place (up by one rank from the last period), 54th in the world (up by 5).

StartupBlink revealed that e-commerce is Vietnam’s top industry for startups. With the 39 (and counting) e-commerce and retail startups in the country, there’s no wonder why the country’s startup ecosystem is a regional leader in innovation.

Other e-commerce startups Aemi, FoodMap, and OpenCommerce have also recently raised millions of dollars of financial support from leading regional venture capital firms. Several e-commerce startup fundings are in the works right now.

As Vietnam’s second-quarter GDP soars to 7.72% — its fastest pace since 2011 — the retail industry grew by 27.3%. E-commerce is leading this growth, and it will only grow bigger.

Next big thing in e-commerce

While e-commerce startup companies are hitting milestones one after the other, the industry remains at risk and faces challenges with every step. Thus, the pressure to keep up with “what’s big” is already given.

According to OnPoint’s CEO, e-commerce businesses must constantly adapt to recent technology trends and proactively look for business partners to leverage each other’s strengths. “We have set up an incubation program which operates as an independent department within the company to test new business ideas. If anything is proven to be scalable at the right economics, we would double-down the investment and make it become a new venture.”

In an interview with TechNode, Quang was asked what the next big thing would be in e-commerce. He answered, “some of the next big growth opportunities in this space will be the outreach of e-commerce to rural areas, cross-border transactions, and the commercialization of metaverse. All these things will be driven by consumer changes and innovations in technology and supply chain.”

Through innovations like AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning, technology providers enable businesses to optimize their efforts in digital transformation. And with these advancements brought by an increasingly digitized business environment, e-commerce will further drive Vietnam’s economic growth.

The story was produced in partnership with the Initiative for Startup Ecosystem in Vietnam.

This story program “Initiative for Startup Ecosystem in Vietnam until 2025” (also known as National Program 844) was approved by the Prime Minister on May 18, 2016, and assigned to the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam in charge of implementation. The program aims to create a favorable environment to promote and support the formation and development of fast-growing businesses based on the exploitation of intellectual property, technology, and new business models.