New funding agency Do Ventures introduced at the moment the primary closing of its fund for Vietnamese startups, which is backed by a number of of Asia’s most notable institutional buyers.
Referred to as Do Ventures Fund I, the funding car has hit greater than half of its $50 million goal, with restricted companions together with Korean web big Naver; Sea, whose companies embody Garena and Shopee; Singapore-based enterprise capital agency Vertex Holdings; and Korean app developer Woowa Brothers.
Do Ventures was based by normal companions Nguyen Manh Dung, former CEO of CyberAgent Ventures Vietnam and Thailand, and Vy Hoang Uyen Le, beforehand a normal accomplice at ESP Capital. Its first fund will concentrate on early-stage corporations and put money into seed to Sequence B rounds.
Each of its founders have a protracted observe document of working with Vietnamese startups. Nguyen was an early investor in corporations together with Tiki.vn, certainly one of Vietnam’s largest on-line marketplaces; meals supply platform Foody.vn; and digital advertising firm CleverAds.
Earlier than she turned an investor, Le was a serial entrepreneur and served as chief government officer at trend e-commerce firm Chon.vn and VinEcom, the e-commerce undertaking launched by Vietnamese actual property conglomerate Vingroup.
In an e mail, Le advised TechCrunch that Do Ventures Fund I is business agnostic, however will construction its investments into two tiers. The primary will include B2C platforms, together with schooling, healthcare and social commerce, that serve youthful customers, and are addressing modifications in shopper conduct attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The second tier will embody B2B platforms that may present providers for corporations within the first tier, and permit them to increase regionally with SaaS options for knowledge and e-commerce providers.
Do Ventures’ founders say that between 2016 and 2019, the quantity of startup funding in Vietnam grew eight-fold to $861 million final yr. However there are nonetheless only some funds that focus particularly on the nation, which implies early-stage Vietnamese startups usually run into funding gaps.
One of many agency’s targets is to assist founders climate the influence of COVID-19, so their corporations can proceed rising regardless of the pandemic.
“We hope tech startups can allow conventional companies to digitize sooner and higher adapt to the brand new regular,” Le stated. “For shoppers, we hope tech startups can remodel buyer expertise in all points of day by day life, and convey extra accessibility to shoppers in distant areas.”
The agency will take a hands-on method to its investments, serving to corporations develop new enterprise fashions.
Do Ventures plans to arrange an computerized reporting system that collects knowledge about how its portfolio corporations are performing, which its normal companions say will allow them assist startups’ operations, together with product improvement, enterprise group, provide chain improvement, and abroad growth.
Originally published at Best gaming pro