Investment in Vietnamese startups booming

A total of 92 Vietnamese startups raised $291 million in funding last year, said Mai Duy Quang of the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association at the opening of K-Startup Grand Challenge on Thursday.

That’s a 45 percent increase in number of startups from 2016 and a 42 percent hike in total investment, according to a report by Topica Founder Institute (TFI), an annual program which trains and connects startups with potential investors.

The biggest deal last year was Foody, a food social network startup, which was acquired for $64 million by Singapore-based SEA Group, one of the most valuable startups in Southeast Asia.

Another major winner was popular e-commerce site Tiki.vn which received a $54 million investment from JD.com, China’s second biggest online retailer, despite reports of losses in recent years.

The three most invested startup categories in Vietnam last year were e-commerce at $83 million, food technology at $65 million and financial technology at $57 million, TFI’s report said.