Both local and foreign investment funds have committed to investing VND10 trillion (US$425 million) to Vietnamese startups over the next three years, local media reported.
The information was given at the Vietnam Venture Summit 2019 held on June 10 with the participation of global venture capital firms including Softbank Vision Fund, Sequoia, SK, Temasek, Insignia, Golden Gate Venture, among others.
At the event, the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam announced an investment worth EUR3 million (US$3.39 million) in Vietnam’s startup community.
Founder of Golden Gate Ventures Vinnie Lauria attributed Vietnam’s stable macro policies, fast economic growth and young population to growing interest from investors in the country’s market.
In 2018, startups in Vietnam attracted US$889 million in funding from 92 deals, nearly triple the value recorded in 2017 at US$291 million for the same number of deals, according to Topica Founder Institute (TFI), a Hanoi-based startup accelerator program.
In the next three years, start-ups in Vietnam are expected to receive large funding in Series A worth US$205 million, US$320 million and US$440 million every year .
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), from 400 startups in 2012, the number has been rising steadily to 1,800 in 2015, and later reached over 3,000 in the 2017 – 2018 period.
Vietnam’s startups ecosystem has been developing with over 40 venture capitals, a two-fold increase against 2015, including those from Vietnam’s leading corporations such as FPT, Viettel, Vingroup, CMC, among others.
Nevertheless, the MPI acknowledged works remain to be done as the ecosystem is still considered at the early stage of development compared to regional peers, while the government is stepping up efforts to ensure a strong foundation for start-ups development, including infrastructure, legal framework, finance, and market.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam urged Vietnamese agencies to continue improving the country's business environment to attract foreign investments.
Referring to cases of Vietnamese enterprises starting their businesses abroad due to outdated regulations and policies in Vietnam, Dam said the government gives priority to a better environment for companies committing long-term business in the country.
TFI in its report revealed the top five sectors attracting the largest investment capital in 2018 include fintech, e-commerce, traveltech, logistics and edtech, in which fintech claimed the top spot with eight deals worth US$117 million.
E-commerce was ranked second with five deals worth US$104 million, compared to 21 in 2017, while traveltech rose to the third place with eight deals worth US$64 million from Vntrip, Luxstay, Atadi, Vleisure, among others.
Logistics and edtech attracted three to four deals worth over US$50 million.
