Koina rides Vietnamese wave of eco-friendly agriculture promotion: chairman

Koina, a data-driven farm-to-business agriculture technology start-up in Vietnam, is working to help improve the domestic supply chain as the government encourages green and sustainable agriculture. Koina co-founder and chairman Nguyen Tran Thi talks to The Investor about the platform’s journey.

VinaCapital Ventures of Vietnam's leading asset management company VinaCapital is investing $1 million in Koina as part of a seed extension fundraising round. What factors have led to VinaCapital Ventures' decision?

The potentially huge market Koina just entered remains very fragmented and there are no leading companies. Another reason is we have a strong founding team with a highly experienced background and passion to deliver value to Vietnamese farmers.

With the new investment, Koina will expand to more sales channels, creating more volume to offtake from farms. We are also investing more in technologies to better manage quality and add value to Vietnamese farm produce.

The solutions that Koina is trying to work out are demanding but they will effectively support both farmers and the domestic economy.

Founded in 2021, Koina serves as a platform connecting Vietnamese farmers with financial institutions, input suppliers, and commercial retailers. What achievements has Koina obtained to date?

After a little over a year in business, Koina has made quite a lot. We’ve distributed almost 10,000 tons of agricultural products, and have more than 2,500 farmers on our “Farmer Platform”, as we name it, and initially supported farmers in accessing new farming techniques and farming inputs at more cost-effective prices.

In terms of fundraising, what is the total Koina has succeeded to date, and from which investors?

We’ve secured investments from three institutional investors, namely Heliconia Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore investment company Temasek Holdings; VinaCapital Ventures; and Nextrans, a Korea-based venture capital firm investing in early-stage startups in Vietnam, South Korea, and the U.S.

The total amount of funding is a part of our non-disclosure agreements, therefore it cannot be revealed.

What are the challenges Koina are facing in the agricultural industry?

The first is investment capital. There are different sources of funding from governmental and non-governmental sectors to support agriculture, but it is challenging for farmers to reach and make use of them. It requires a lot of investment for changes on a larger scale in agriculture.

Besides, there are many stakeholders throughout the supply chain, and long-established habits are out there, like land fragmentation and inappropriate cultivation practices. Koina is seeking to standardize step-by-step and apply technology to support business stakeholders more effectively.

The Vietnamese government is promoting green and eco-friendly agriculture. How does Koina take advantage of this opportunity? And from Koina’s viewpoint, what should be done in Vietnam’s development of green agriculture?

One of Koina's biggest goals when starting our agri-business is to improve the efficiency of the fragmented agricultural value chain while helping gradually change outdated techniques and old farming habits that affect the environment, thereby ensuring longer-term and more sustainable development. Therefore, the government’s go-green policy will strongly support our activities.

In our view, developing green and eco-friendly agriculture has to go hand-in-hand with raising incomes and stabilizing farmers' lives. Farmers have a direct impact on agricultural activities, especially in Vietnam where almost all farms are owned by individual farmers. We cannot have a green and good environment if we don't help farmers live a sustainable life. Moreover, it is necessary to link businesses in the whole value chain, from input to output, as well as join hands to promote best practices that ensure sustainable development.

You used to be the chief operating officer of VinShop in One Mount Group, a technology-oriented affiliate of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, and are running Koina. What are some other high-profile names in your founding team?

We’ve got Luu Hoang Khoa as our CEO. He was the chief operating officer of VinID in the Vingroup ecosystem who had also been the head of regional business automation for Grab. Our chief marketing officer is Vo Duy Phu, a founding member of The Coffee House, an established Vietnamese coffee chain. He used to be the chief growth & marketing officer at Vinshop under the Vingroup roof.