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Apr 19, 2018 / 23:02

Japanese investor eyes Vietnamese start-up Triip

Vietnam’s Triip on April 19 announced that it has raised an undisclosed sum of funding from Japanese strategic investor Gaiax and individual investor Nguyen Duy.

This is the second funding round raised by the company after it bagged US$500,000 in a round led by venture capital firm Gobi Partners in 2016, stated DealStreetAsia. 
 
Illustration photo.
Illustration photo.
In a statement, Triip said that the latest financing sees its valuation jump to US$10 million from US$2 million in 2016.
The company also announced plans to raise US$20 million via an initial coin offering (ICO). If successful, this would be one of the biggest ICOs in the travel sector.
Founded in 2013, the Ho Chi Minh City-based crowdsourced travel platform enables locals to design their own customised tour packages, offering independent travellers an immersive cultural experience. The website allows tourists to find the local experiences posted by independent tour guides and book a trip.
Gaiax is a listed Japanese company that was established in 1999. The company is responsible for establishing Japan’s Blockchain and Sharing Economy Associations. Gaiax also operates a similar platform to Triip’s in Japan focused on the local market.
According to Triip’s announcement, Gaiax Global Marketing and Ventures Pte. Ltd. invested in the Vietnamese company because of its experience in the sharing economy market.
Nguyen, meanwhile, was recently listed on the 2018 list of Forbes Vietnam 30 Under 30. He is the Managing Director of KOVA Trading that has now expanded to Europe and has a distribution network spanning the Americas, Russia, the Middle East, and Japan.
Triip also announced its collaboration with Startup Vietnam Foundation (SVF) and Innovation Capital Management (ICM).
ICM was instrumental in securing the deal between Triip and Nguyen Duy. Established in 2017, it acts as a bridge between startups and investors.