Venture capital from Singapore flows strongly into Vietnamese startups

Singaporean venture capital funds have affirmed their position as the most active investors in the Vietnamese market, with continuous investments in Vietnamese startups in potential fields, from renewable energy to electric vehicles...

Representatives of venture capital funds and investors from Singapore meet startups in Antler's portfolio in Ho Chi Minh City

Continuous investment

In early July 2024, Clime Capital, a Singapore-based fund management and venture capital firm, announced a $10 million investment from the Southeast Asia Clean Energy Fund II (SEACEF II) in Nami Distributed Company.

Energy (Nami). This investment aims to accelerate Nami’s rapid growth and increase its positive impact on businesses in Vietnam. Nami specializes in providing innovative distributed energy solutions to commercial and industrial customers.

Speaking to Dau Tu Newspaper, Mr. Mason Wallick, Founder and CEO of Clime Capital, said: “Clime Capital has been operating in Vietnam since 2020. Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country with great potential for developing clean energy infrastructure, not only because of its abundant natural resources, such as sunshine and wind, but also because of the high demand for electricity due to rapid economic development.”

Previously, Clime Capital invested in Levanta Renewables - a company investing in 3 wind power projects in the South Central and Central Highlands; EBoost - a smart open charging station operator for electric vehicles; and Stride - a clean energy technology company providing financial solutions and quality assurance for rooftop solar power projects and battery energy storage systems for households and small businesses in Vietnam.

Mr. Wallick assessed that the Vietnamese Government's issuance of a direct power purchase mechanism opens up many opportunities for the development of cost-effective renewable energy. Clime Capital is exploring potential opportunities, while also dedicating capital to funding start-ups and clean energy businesses that have developed stably in Vietnam.

“We support promising projects in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and grid businesses at the early stages of development. Clime Capital is increasingly collaborating with start-ups that share the goal of accelerating the low-carbon transition in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese market promises attractive investment opportunities for private equity and Clime Capital’s specialized blended finance model,” said Mr. Wallick.

Another Singapore-based venture capital fund, Wavemaker Partners, is also actively investing in Vietnam. In April 2024, customer care platform CNV successfully raised $1 million in a seed round led by Wavemaker Partners and other investors.

Ms. Phuong Tran, Investment Director of Wavemaker Partners Vietnam, said that Vietnam is one of Wavemaker Partners' key markets in Southeast Asia. The fund has been investing regularly in the Vietnamese market since 2020 and has maintained a stable investment rate over the past 4 years. To date, Wavemaker Partners' investment portfolio has 8 Vietnamese enterprises and is expected to continue to expand.

“Vietnam has a relatively strong macroeconomic foundation in the Southeast Asian region. I believe that Singaporean venture capital funds will continue to invest in Vietnam, although valuations may be more disciplined and require more careful consideration…”, Ms. Phuong Tran commented.

Support startup projects

According to the Vietnam Technology and Innovation Investment Report 2024 released by the National Innovation Center and Do Ventures in April 2024, Singapore led the investment in Vietnamese startups in 2023. Specifically, 22 funds from Singapore invested in Vietnamese startups in the past year.

Recently, Antler, a Singapore-based venture capital fund, held a portfolio launch with the participation of more than 100 venture capital funds and investors from Singapore, many Southeast Asian countries and globally. They flew to Ho Chi Minh City to meet startups in Antler's portfolio.

“We will continue to support startups to demonstrate their business viability, expand their financial performance, build a capable team, and develop clear growth strategies to thrive,” said Erik Jonsson, Managing Partner of Antler Vietnam.

It is known that in 2024, Antler plans to actively invest in startups and support early-stage founders in Vietnam to leverage domestic resources to rapidly scale and solve real problems in the region and globally. The fund will dedicate $6 million to the Vietnamese market in the next 9 months, providing pre-seed capital for new startup founders and follow-on funding of up to $600,000 per company.

“Startups that meet the growth criteria will join the accelerator program to accelerate their development from the idea stage to a funding round of over $1 million in one year. As a long-term capital partner, Antler will also provide growth-stage capital of up to $10 million for startups raising Series A funding or more,” added Erik Jonsson.

Since the beginning of the year, venture capital flows into Vietnam have dropped significantly. A report by Tracxn revealed that total funding for Vietnamese technology startups in the first half of 2024 decreased by 52.7% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching only 46.5 million USD.

However, for FEBE Ventures, a Singapore-based early-stage venture capital fund, Vietnam remains a key market in Southeast Asia. In November 2023, FEBE Ventures launched its second fund with a scale of 75 million USD.

“We want to support Vietnam’s dynamic startup ecosystem. We are interested in technology startups that can scale globally, including those from Vietnam. The fund is not only tech-oriented, but also focuses on areas such as B2B, AI, health tech and climate tech,” said Olivier Raussin, Co-founder of FEBE Ventures.

To help portfolio startups through difficult times, FEBE Ventures has supported business development, fundraising, talent acquisition and strategic direction to ensure sustainable growth.

Vietnam's startup ecosystem has great potential.

- Mr. Olivier Raussin, Co-founder of FEBE Ventures

Despite the “fundraising winter”, Vietnam’s startup ecosystem still has a lot of potential, driven by several key factors.

Specifically, Vietnam’s economy is increasingly integrating deeply with the world economy, making Vietnam a strategic destination for startups and investors. Vietnam’seducation system is developing strongly, especially in K-12 mathematics and engineering, contributing to training a highly skilled workforce for technology startups.

The government’s proactive push for technological advancements, such as the development of 5G networks, also supports the growth of tech startups. The rapid development of Vietnam’s digital economy, with high growth in e-commerce and digital payments, contributes to creating a favorable environment for startups.

Therefore, Vietnam has many promising opportunities in the fields of financial technology, logistics, medical technology and education technology.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/von-dau-tu-mao-hiem-tu-singapore-chay-manh-vao-start-up-viet-d221969.html