Media startup Vietcetera has launched Vietnam Innovators Fund, while Visa Foundation has signed an agreement to invest in Beacon Fund.
Vietnam Innovators Fund launched
Vietnam Innovators Fund is the latest investment vehicle to join Vietnam’s startup ecosystem.
The fund is established by media startup Vietcetera CEO Hao Tran, and German entrepreneur and investor Horst Geicke.
The investment fund will support Vietnamese startups at seed and Series A stages as it looks to address the underserved needs of startups in the country.
Cheque sizes will range from a minimum of $100,000 to $250,000 into 5-10 startups annually.
The fund is sector agnostic – it is looking to invest in new media technologies, fintech, and general B2C companies.
The fund intends to expand in 2023 to include other limited partners.
Founded in 2016, Vietcetera bagged $2.7 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by media-focused VC firm North Base Media last year.
Meanwhile, Geicke has over 25 years of operating and investing experience in Vietnam and China. He will the general partner for the Vietnam Innovators Fund.
Visa Foundation invests in Beacon Fund
Visa Foundation has signed an agreement to invest in Beacon Fund, a woman-led private credit vehicle that supports small and growing businesses in Southeast Asia.
This is Visa Foundation’s first investment in a Southeast Asia-focused regional fund as it looks to ramp up its focus on the region.
Visa Foundation’s decision to invest in Beacon Fund is a testament to the presence in Southeast Asia of a sizeable, underserved population of women-led and women-owned small businesses.
These businesses are too big for microfinance, too small for private equity, do not meet the relatively rigid requirements of the traditional financial ecosystem and do not fit the hypergrowth start-up profile targeted by venture capital.