Opportunity to raise tens of billions of dong

On May 31, the Danang International Venture and Angel Investment Event (DAVAS 2024) took place in Da Nang. 10 large domestic and foreign investment funds such as Quest Ventures, Do Ventures, TheVentures, Trive Singapore, Thinkzone... and about 30 innovative projects and startups in need of capital gathered in Da Nang. Of these, 3 projects came from Singapore, 1 project came from Canada, 7 projects came from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and 19 projects came from Da Nang.

At the event, Ms. Tran Hanh Trang, CEO of Enouvo Space, said that the fundraising process for startups is very difficult. Startups mostly have to go to many places to present and look for investors. This is a great opportunity for the company to meet many potential domestic and international investors, know whether their products have potential or not, what needs to be changed, etc.

“With the digital transformation solution for rental real estate, we want to provide it to both domestic and foreign markets. This requires “quick action” and financial support. This is an opportunity for us to discuss with potential investors,” said Ms. Trang.

Mr. Vo Duc Anh, Deputy Director of the Danang Center for Supporting Innovative Startups, said that in recent years, Danang has had many policies to support startups. However, the limitation is the difficulty in accessing capital.

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Project participating in pitching to investors and investment funds. Photo: D. Thuy

“When working with foreign partners, they know very little about the startup ecosystem in Da Nang, which leads to disadvantages for startup projects,” said Mr. Duc Anh. Most investment funds are located at the two ends of the country, so startups in Da Nang have difficulty accessing funds and spend money on travel. Therefore, gathering large-scale investment funds to Da Nang is a great opportunity for the startup community.

The 30 projects calling for capital this time are divided into 2 groups, the group calling for capital under 500,000 USD and the group from 500,000-3,000,000 USD. The projects are in many fields such as smart office management, circular economy, green economy, digital asset management technology... The participating projects have been trained for 1 month with experts to learn how to call for capital professionally.

Positioning Danang as an attractive destination for investors

Mr. Duong Hoang Van Ban, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Da Nang, said that the innovative startup ecosystem of Da Nang is growing, with startups making breakthroughs and successfully raising millions of USD in capital. This event will create a premise to position Da Nang city as an attractive destination for investors and startups in need of domestic and international capital, gradually building and forming a community of angel investors and venture capital funds in the area.

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The Department of Science and Technology signed a cooperation agreement with the Asia Business and Investment Promotion Organization to support and accelerate startups. Photo: D. Thuy

Mr. James Tan, Managing Partner of Quest Ventures, believes that the expectation of Da Nang becoming a center of technology and innovation is very feasible. In competition with big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang is interested in and has many support policies for the startup community.

To date, this investment fund has invested in more than 100 startups in the Asian region, including 3 startups that have become technology unicorns, valued at 1 billion USD or more. The fund affirms that it can invest in businesses with an investment scale of 50,000-100,000 USD and even up to 3 million USD depending on the quality of businesses in Vietnam.

Ms. Le Hoang Uyen Vy, representative of Do Ventures fund, assessed that currently, large investors are very interested in the Vietnamese market, especially in the fields of education and healthcare. Da Nang has many advantages such as strategic location, human resources, etc. The fields of cross-border trade, global AI services, and smart industrial production will be potential areas.