Startups in Vietnam attract $494 mln in Jan-Sep venture capital: report

Startups in Vietnam attracted $494 million of venture capital in 94 deals in the first nine months of the year, down from $602 million in the same period of 2021, according to a report by BambuUP, a Vietnamese innovation connection platform.

The report noted that Vietnam’s innovation ecosystem has entered the golden age from late 2019 or early 2020, with funding of $1.4 billion in 165 deals in 2021, up 200% and 57% year-on-year, respectively.

Vietnam has about 208 venture capital funds, including 40 domestic ones. Notable angel investors are Vietnam Silicon Valley Accelerator with support from the Ministry of Science and Technology, CLAS Expara Vietnam Accelerator initiated by Microsoft Vietnam, and Vietnam Startup Acceleration Fund invested by FPT and Dragon Capital Group, according to the report.

Currently, about 3,800 startups are operational in Vietnam. Notable unicorns, which are valued at over $1 billion, are VNG, a gaming, platform, fintech, cloud computing business; VNPAY, a payment, multi-channel, and e-commerce player; and MoMo, an electronic wallet provider.

There are 84 startup incubators in the country, featuring 43 established by educational units and 41 privately-owned ones.

The report also emphasized the government’s efforts in promoting startups. In particular, the prime minister's Decision 569/QD-TTg stipulated investment in science and technology reaching 1.2-1.5% of the GDP until 2030 and a workforce for scientific research and technology development at 10 per every 10,000 people.

It showed that payments and retail were the most attractive sectors with $1.01 billion and $1.09 billion capital invested so far, respectively. Other notable sectors were financial services with $293 million, education with $187 million, and entertainment/gaming with $198 million.