｜ Launch event of the Fundraising Exchange platform and Investors Forum｜
On July 15, 2022, Viet Startup Incubator (VSI), in collaboration with entities within the National Startup Ecosystem in Ho Chi Minh City, officially launched the Fundraising Exchange Platform and Investors Forum, with the support of NSSC HCM, aiming to stimulate financial flows within the ecosystem.
In recent years, funds and individual investors have been increasingly channeling capital into startup projects, particularly in the fields of technology and innovation. The number of deals and the scale of investments in Vietnamese startups have been on the rise, with the country ranking third in the Southeast Asian region for the success rate of investment deals. The majority of these investments are primarily in Pre-A and Series A startup groups.
In the spirit of national entrepreneurship, there has been a growing number of startup ideas and projects. However, there is a shortage of guidance, resources, and connections with entities within the ecosystem, particularly a lack of funding for sustaining and developing these initiatives.
In reality, startups and investors are mutually interested in each other, yet startups often face challenges in fundraising. Why is it difficult for startups to attract funding despite the existing interest and search efforts between startups and investors?
The creation of Fundraising Exchange aims to address the needs of investors, including funds, professional investors, and individual investors, by providing them with a reliable, verified, and internationally standardized ‘commodity.’ This ensures that the offerings meet established criteria, standards, and pricing based on international benchmarks. Simultaneously, startups have the opportunity to connect with funds, professional investors, and a community of individual investors who not only have financial resources but also possess expertise and experience, ready to collaborate and contribute to the project’s development post-investment.
Adopting international standards in most business processes and startup support products, such as validating business profiles, ISO-standard business evaluations, advisory services for meeting standards, current business valuation, and shaping future value, ensures that the ‘commodities’ are categorized and placed in different ‘baskets.’ This facilitates convenient selection and decision-making for funds and investors.
In parallel, the Investors Forum operates to create an active environment for investors. The goal is to establish a Professional Investors Council with both financial and deep domain expertise in the project’s field and business operations. This council aims to assess, evaluate, and select projects.
To enhance the activities of Fundraising Exchange, a series of programs will be continuously deployed according to the following schedule:
At the Fundraising Exchange launch event, the introduction of XDC Capital, the digital bank’s fund, took place. Additionally, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between Viet Startup Incubator and NEU Venture Capital Fund.
The launch of the Fundraising Exchange attracted significant attention, with many projects expressing interest. VSI also entered into a strategic partnership with CURVES Vietnam to provide fundraising support on the platform.
The unveiling of Fundraising Exchange and Investors Forum garnered considerable interest from fund partners, investors, organizations, and experts within the innovative startup ecosystem in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as the startup community both domestically and internationally.
