In brief: 500 Startups brings Silicon Valley accelerator to Vietnam

One month after announcing its oversubscribed final close, 500 Startups Vietnam today said that it will bring 500 Startups’ Silicon Valley accelerator curriculum to Vietnam in 2019, in partnership with South Korean multimedia retailer GS Shop.

The Saola Accelerator aims to support three batches of Vietnam-connected startups with a US$100,000 investment. In addition, each participating company will receive access to more than US$500,000 worth of perks and discounts from 20 partners, including Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft.

Source: 500 Startups

GS Shop will match 500 Startups Vietnam’s investment in selected startups that graduate from the Saola Accelerator, bringing potential total investment to US$200,000.

The program will conclude with a Demo Day in which participating startups will get the chance to pitch to select regional venture investors.

Startups applying for the program need to be “tech or tech-enabled,” have “meaningful” traction, and must either have a Vietnamese co-founder, team on the ground in Vietnam, or be focused on serving the Vietnamese market.

Applications can be submitted here. The deadline is on January 20 next year, with an early bird cutoff on January 2. Early-bird applications will get first consideration and can access investment capital sooner.