A recap of AVV's first AGM
Hello everyone,
In 2022, startup funding in Vietnam saw a substantial drop (56% y-o-y.) Times are tough, yet investors, us included, remain bullish on Vietnam. In the face of short-term headwinds and uncertainties, we are still optimistic about the market’s fundamentals and the medium and long-term outlook. Thus we believe it is a good time to invest in seed-stage startups in Vietnam (see more under Vietnam Tech in the News.)
This sentiment was echoed between us, our investors, founders, and partners at our first-ever Annual General Meeting (AGM), titled AVV Summit 2023: Charting New Paths. Over two days of the Summit, we had ~30 investors join us to learn about the AVV’s journey and our future plans to continue our mission of “empowering tech entrepreneurs in Vietnam to positively transform the lives of people everywhere.” We were also honored to receive ~20 speakers who are leading experts and entrepreneurs in various sectors and industries, sharing valuable insights on Vietnam’s market and investment landscape and notable tech & startup sectors. After engaging in lively discussions and forging deeper relationships, we walked away feeling confident and mindful on our journey ahead. For more learnings from our AVV Summit and other AVV updates, check out the Spotlight and the AVV in Action sections.
Until next time,
The Ascent
Although startup funding fell in 2022 (down 56% over the previous year) due to macroeconomic conditions and relatively quiet late-stage deal activity, Vietnam remains an attractive destination for investors due to favorable valuations and strong recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. With a solid foundation and increasing government support, the outlook for Vietnam's investment landscape remains positive in the medium and long term. Our GP Binh Tran reaffirms AVV’s plan to continue investing at the same pace despite short-term headwinds – “With a 5-10 year outlook, we understand that seed investing is a long-term game and are looking for tech opportunities that seek to create sustainable value”.
2. Apple supplier Quanta pours $120M into Vietnam factory to try to catch MacBook orders.
With this investment, Quanta has joined a growing list of Apple suppliers who are investing heavily in Vietnam. Vietnam is one of the few Asian countries that has weathered the economic impact of Covid-19, and it is projected to achieve a 6.3% GDP growth rate by the World Bank. As international tech giants continue diversifying their production outside of China, Vietnam remains a top destination for their consideration.
3. Huawei diversifies in Vietnam with products for data centers.
Huawei is expanding its data center supplies in Vietnam due to increased demand for cloud computing, driven by the government's digital transformation goal and data storage regulations. Other companies, such as Mitsubishi and VinHMS of Vingroup, are also entering the market, competing with established players like VNG and AWS. This market is expected to grow due to low costs and the implementation of data storage regulations.
4. Snapshots of early-stage deal activity in Vietnam.
Selex Motors, a Vietnamese manufacturer of electric vehicles and battery packs, has raised $3 million to expand production lines, support vehicle sales, set up battery-swapping systems in key cities throughout Vietnam, and expand regionally. In a separate development, Tepbac, a Vietnamese shrimp farming platform, has raised $2.25 million in a pre-series A funding round. Tepbac offers IoT-enabled hardware and data systems and a media platform to simplify operations, improve decision-making, and optimize production costs for shrimp farmers.
5. Shopee and Foodmap launch a campaign to celebrate Vietnam’s agricultural products.
Agricultural e-commerce startup Foodmap (an AVV portfolio company) has partnered with Shopee in a campaign to support Vietnamese farmers in promoting local produce, developing sustainable business practices, and elevating local brands. Foodmap will be working closely with farmers to standardize their farming practices for best-quality output, which will later be promoted and distributed via Shopee Food. The campaign will run from April to December of this year.
In Vietnam's tech scene, there's a lot of excitement in finding new ways to help consumers, entrepreneurs, and businesses. By using Vietnam's unique advantages and cultural aspects, founders can create strong teams and organizations with diverse skill sets that show the world Vietnam has much more to offer than just engineering talent for international companies.
During AVV Summit 2023: Charting New Paths, we explored this notion via a panel titled “Launching Globally from Vietnam,” featuring representatives from three of our portfolio companies, Virtual Internships, PowerTrade, and Anduin Transactions. These companies are serving global markets, but they chose to build some of their strategic functions, e.g. product, marketing, legal, and customer success in Vietnam. They firmly believe that Vietnam is more than a backend engineering hub, as there is an abundance of talent in various fields that is experienced and capable of leading and contributing to a global team.
Building a company in Vietnam can also mean it is easier to attract foreign talent to join. While some senior professionals may prefer to remain in global financial hubs such as Tokyo, Singapore, or Hong Kong, other professionals view Vietnam as an exciting destination for the next step on their career path.
There are also lessons from Vietnamese culture that founders can learn from, such as a strong and balanced work ethic and building stronger interpersonal relationships within the team. Understanding personal relationships as a way to get business done can be a powerful tool in building a successful team. As Vietnam continues to establish itself as a global tech hub, investors and entrepreneurs alike should keep a close eye on the talent pool here to realize a larger opportunity.
1. Power Tech Talk
Earlier this month, Binh joined Power Tech Talk #3, a networking series organized by Sky Mavis to connect tech leaders and experts in the blockchain community. The theme for the event was “Designing and Launching Games in the Web 3.0 Era”. Binh shared his experience on how to develop a business and marketing strategy to make online games, in particular web 3.0 games, successful. He also remarked on the importance of investing beyond the content and promotion of games, and more attention should be paid to investing in the infrastructure upon which more games can be developed.
2. Tech After Dark
After the first successful Tech After Dark last year, AVV co-organized the 2nd event with Young Entrepreneurs Saigon (YES) and Ivy+Partners, with the aim to bring young professionals from the startup and tech community in Vietnam together through a fun and high-quality networking event. The event was well attended by over 160 people (fully sold out!) from the tech and startups community in Saigon. More events to come in the future, so make sure to follow Tech After Dark.
3. Shark Tank
Thao Nguyen, our Senior Investment Manager, was invited to be a judge on Shark Tank Vietnam (audition round). Besides the opportunity to evaluate over 40 startups in various sectors (agriculture, retail, manufacturing, tech, etc..) and at different stages (from early-stage to well-established companies), we also had a chance to connect with the inspiring founders and provide them with feedback to support them on their entrepreneurial journey.
4. Southern Methodist University visit
After a number of visits from top universities last month, we continue to have the pleasure of receiving a large group of 100 MBA students from the Global Leadership Program at Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business (Texas). The visit gave the students an opportunity to explore Saigon’s technology, innovation, and start-up ecosystem. Binh had a chat with the students and shared his insights on Vietnam's explosive growth and its burgeoning tech sector, as well as how local business dynamics work.
5. Digifin - How investors & Business should tread in the time of economic turbulence
Last week, Le Nguyen, AVV’s investment associate, was invited to speak at Digifin’s event on “How investors & Business should tread in the time of economic turbulence. In the context that the era of “easy money” is ending. Le shared his views on the investment landscape in the current economic climate, and where the opportunities lie even in this challenging time. Digifin is a local community created to connect financial professionals and businesses.
