Vietnam is evidently emerging stronger after the pandemic pushed the economy down in the past two years. A recent COVID-19 recovery index from Nikkei saw the country in the second spot in June, jumping 12 places higher from the previous month, thanks to a vigorous rebound in tourism, trade, and manufacturing.
This has also led to an increasing flow of investments, especially in Vietnamese startups. Dozens of startups have received multi-million dollar funding in recent months, allowing them to scale up, expand and offer new products and services to their Vietnamese consumers.
From the $3.5M seed funding to True Platform in May to Finhay’s new $25M investment in June, there’s no doubt Vietnam’s startup ecosystem is back on the grind— and it’s growing exponentially by the day with the support of venture capital firms and angel investors that see its enormous potential for development.
But where did Vietnam’s latest startup fundings come from? Here’s the list.
Mekong Capital
Mekong Capital is the first fund in Vietnam to focus solely on investing in private Vietnamese companies. As a pioneer in Ontological Private Equity, Mekong Capital focuses on “who people are being, and how situations occur for them, as access to delivering results.” Mekong Capital’s investee companies are typically among the fastest growing and market leading companies in Vietnam’s consumer-driven sectors such as retail, restaurants, consumer products, and distribution.
In 2009, concurrent with Mekong Capital’s own transformation, it developed the new Vision Driven Investing framework (VDI), which requires partnership with every investee company, to begin with a committed vision for their future. This leads to breakthroughs in performance, and ultimately the achievement of the investee companies’ visions.
Latest funding: Entobel
January Capital
Singapore-based firm January Capital invests in technology companies that are “powering the digitization of commerce and work” in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and Vietnam. Investing from the pre-seed to Series B equity financial stage, the wealth design firm pours between $0.25 and $5 million as an initial check. It has so far invested more than $25 million over the course of its partnership with portfolio companies.
“We focus on founders building ‘enablement’ technologies that reduce friction for businesses,” its website reads. “We are thesis-driven, which means our deals typically originate from our outbound approaches rather than via warm introductions.”
Beyond financial funding, January Capital also adds value to startup operations, finding and retaining talents, and network connections, as well as preparing them for exit rounds.
Latest funding: True Platform, Aemi
Y Combinator
Y Combinator is a startup accelerator based in Mountain View, California. It has invested in nearly 3000 companies, including Airbnb, Doordash, Stripe, and Dropbox. The current valuation of YC companies is now over $600 billion, and it’s expected to further expand. With extensive programs and resources, YC supports its community of 7000 founders throughout the lifespan of their companies.
Twice a year, YC invests $500,000 per company in a large number of startups. Its partners work intensively with companies for at least three months to get them into the best possible shape and refine their pitch to investors. Through its Startup School and YC batch program, the investment firm spills secrets to success to new entrepreneurs and gives them the right platform to grow and discover their potential.
Latest funding: Anfin
Do Ventures
Do Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on making investments in technology companies in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. With its ‘Grow by Doing’ philosophy, Do Ventures believe that entrepreneurs who are willing to do more make more right decisions. “Those who work harder will have more chances to encounter luck in their career path.”
For Vietnam, where most startups are still in the early stage, Do Ventures recognizes the need to have them gain exposure early on to top founders by investing in the seed stage. For well-performing companies, Do Ventures jump in follow-on rounds to enable companies to scale up faster.
Do Venture’s team has primary access to top-notch founders in Vietnam, having developed close relationships with three generations of founders since the early days of the Internet industry. Its established personal reputation and extensive network always assure access to proprietary deals in the market.
Latest funding: Azota
Openspace Ventures
Openspace Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in tech companies at different stages and within different sectors, with an emphasis on consumer, healthcare, finance, enterprise, and frontier technologies. By harnessing Active Intelligence, Openspace works with its portfolio companies to realize bolder visions and accelerate their progress in a responsible and viable way, just like what it did with Gokek and Love, Bonito.
Openspace’s portfolio companies continue to have a positive impact on the region’s most pressing social, environmental, and governance issues. The firm backs these startups’ efforts with its capital and expertise — encouraging sustainable growth and responsible processes wherever possible.
Openspace supports startups from Series A/B rounds, helping them establish product-market fit and raising capital for rapid scaling, to Series C/D rounds for market expansion and revenue traction. It also recently launched Ocular, an investment fund focused on the rising asset class of crypto and Web3. With a tech venture capital and data science background, Openspace Ventures team is also deep-rooted in the crypto community, with about US$650m in committed capital.
Latest funding: Finhay
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.