Insignia Ventures Partners cuts deal with TFI on funding support for graduates

Representatives of Topica Founder Institute and Insignia Ventures Partners shake hands at the signing ceremony on January 16. (Photo: Saigon Times)

This marks the first time in Vietnam a venture capital fund commits to a blanket deal for graduates from an accelerator program without prior criteria.

Yinglan Tan, managing partner of Insignia Ventures Partners, said at the signing ceremony that Vietnam is an energetic and potential startup market. If proper investment is available, great Vietnam startups can emerge.

“Insignia Ventures Partners is showing great interest and desire to contribute for this development. Knowing how TFI has consistently turned out great startups, we’ve decided to enter into this partnership to tap into that potential at the early stage,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tran Manh Cong, co-director of TFI, said that “being with Vietnam startups from the beginning, TFI deeply understands the opportunities and challenges that they may encounter, and we are always there to support them not only in knowledge of building startups but also the fund for their early stage.”

He added the signing marks a great milestone in validating their contributions to the Vietnam startup ecosystem and hopefully will propel it to great heights.

At the signing, TFI also announced the release of “Vietnam Startup Deals Insights 2018” report. The annual report highlights the tremendous growth of the startup ecosystem in 2018 and provides a glimpse into the market potential for the future of development in technology startups and the economy of Vietnam.

While the number of deals is the same as 2017 with 92 ones, what stands out in 2018 is the number of mega deals, those above US$30 million, which contributed to the staggering total deal value of over US$889 million, a three-time increase over the 2017 tally of US$291 million.

The boom of startups in recent years helps boost the economy and contributes to the positive improvement of society, which enhances social knowledge and is in line with the latest trends worldwide.

Some of the notable startups from TFI, such as Appota, Hoayeuthuong, Kyna, Logivan, and Monkey Junior, have also successfully raised funding since the founding of the program in 2011.

Throughout more than seven years of accelerating founders and startups with impressive growth, TFI has garnered strong interests from global investment funds for its graduate alumni.

Significantly, one third of the startups that received Seed & Series A funding in 2016 are TFI alumni. The partnership with Insignia Ventures Partners will further enhance the credibility and reputation of TFI as one of the top startup accelerators in Southeast Asia.