Japanese carrier buys stake in Vietnamese startup
NTT e-Asia, a member company of the NTT East telecommunications group (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation, Japan) has just announced a strategic investment in Awing. This is a Vietnamese startup that owns an online advertising platform on public WiFi networks.
Awing is a Vietnamese startup founded in 2017. The advertising platform developed by Awing operates by providing free WiFi to mobile users. In return, before connecting to the WiFi network, they will have to interact with online advertisements of brands.
The market that this startup is targeting is location-based advertising. The system is deployed according to the sharing economy model, combined with free public WiFi networks to create an advertising "ground". The development unit only holds the platform, while the WiFi infrastructure is invested by partners such as stores, shopping centers, etc.
In the newly announced deal, NTT e-Asia will own 32.5% of Awing's shares. The investment value is about 14.5 million USD. With this deal, startup Awing owns a valuation of up to 45 million USD, equivalent to 1,100 billion VND. This is also the first time startup Awing has raised capital.
After receiving investment from Japan, Awing's structure will include 55.6% of the founding team's shares, 32.5% of NTT e-Asia's shares, and 11.5% of shares owned by other individuals.
NTT East is the world's fourth largest telecommunications and information technology group in terms of revenue. The group is investing heavily in Southeast Asia, especially in areas such as smart cities, digital transformation, and software development.
NTT e-Asia's investment in Awing is considered a solid stepping stone for this startup to expand to the world. This event also opens a new wave of Japanese investment in Vietnamese IT enterprises.
Vietnamese Startups Will “Go Global”, First Going to Thailand and Singapore
After the capital raising deal, the money invested by the Japanese network will not be withdrawn. Instead, the Vietnamese startup plans to use this capital to “go global” and enter the world market. This is also one of the few fundamental business models developed by Vietnamese people that is exported.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung, Chairman and CEO of startup Awing, said that normally, the advertising industry accounts for 1-2% of GDP. In Vietnam, the advertising industry is currently about 2 billion USD, only about 0.5% of GDP, so there is still a lot of room for development. Awing's cooperation with NTT East aims to reach the global market.
“ In the immediate future, we will aim to provide services in countries in the ASEAN region such as Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore. At the same time, Awing will gradually deploy its platform to the Japanese market ,” Mr. Dung shared.
When going global, the challenges that this startup faces are identified as difficulties in capital, human resources, and trust from customers and partners. According to CEO Awing, receiving investment from NTT East will provide capital, as well as a guarantee of technology and brand in the process of going global.
Sharing with VietNamNet, Mr. Ebihara Takashi, Chairman of NTT e-Asia, said that NTT chose to invest in Awing because it highly appreciated the technology and unique business model of this startup.
“ From an investment perspective, NTT has resources in many countries, along with relationships with telecommunications corporations and equipment manufacturers. This is why we believe Awing can build an ecosystem from this investment ,” said the President of NTT e-Asia.
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