Industry veterans from VC firms CyberAgent Capital and ESP Capital have founded a new Vietnam-focused venture fund to look for early-stage opportunities in the country.
Do Ventures founders Vy Hoang Uyen Le (left) and Manh Dung Nguyen / Photo credit: Do Ventures
Called Do Ventures, the new company announced the first closing of its new fund Do Ventures Fund I at more than half of its US$50 million target. Its investors include Naver, Sea, Vertex Holdings, and Woowa Brothers, among others.
The fund is co-founded by Manh Dung Nguyen and Vy Hoang Uyen Le, who left CyberAgent and ESP, respectively, to focus on Do Ventures. The two bring with them a combined 15 years of investment experience and over 20 years of relevant operations expertise.
Leveraging Vietnam’s favorable demographics, Do Ventures is looking to invest in companies that tap into the country’s fast-growing middle class and serve its massive young population. The company also said that the current environment presents an ideal opportunity for a focused early-stage fund in Vietnam.
A spokesperson for Do Ventures told Tech in Asia that the new fund will be set for – but won’t be limited to – two tiers of companies.
The first tier includes B2C platforms that complement an ecosystem of services, such as education and healthcare, to capitalize on the changes in customer behavior after Covid-19. The second involves regional-scaled B2B platforms that synergize with Do Ventures’ first-tier portfolio firms.
The company said it plans to allocate up to US$5 million for a well-performing startup.
According to a company statement, the amount of invested capital and the number of technology deals done in Vietnam have both grown six-fold from 2017 to 2019. Do Ventures said it aims to help fill the gap that was created by the absence of currently active local funds to ride on and further spur this growth.
“The Vietnam consumption market is at its tipping point and ready to be captured by technology companies with innovative products. We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to boost the local economic growth at this very key circumstance,” said Nguyen.
Do Ventures said it will invest in startups in their seed to series B stages. The VC aims to lead seed round investments, with an average check size of US$500,000, and raise succeeding rounds for portfolio companies after its initial backing.
With the subsequent rounds of funding, Do Ventures can also tap into its pool of partner companies and institutional investors to provide portfolio companies with additional investment opportunities and access to networks and industrial knowledge bases.
Editing by September Grace Mahino
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