Targeting Vietnamese tech startups
In late 2022, South Korean venture capital fund Nextrans announced plans to launch a $50 million fund focused on the technology startup ecosystem in Vietnam.
According to DealStreetAsia, Le Han Tue Lam , the representative director of Nextrans Investment Fund in Vietnam, confirmed that the fund will make investments in startups worth up to $3 million.
Le Han Tue Lam is one of three Vietnamese people honored by Forbes in its 2021 30 Under 30 list. Currently, this businesswoman holds the position of Representative Director of Nextrans Investment Fund in Vietnam. Tue Lam is one of the six sharks in the 6th season of Shark Tank Vietnam, which launched on September 19th.
According to Nextrans' introduction, Tue Lam is the founder of the Venture Capital Fund Program (VCFP) and previously worked at the startup Base.vn. Ms. Lam has nearly six years of experience working closely with startup founders, venture capital funds in the region, and local partners; she is passionate about SaaS (Software as a Service), Edtech (Education Technology), and Agritech ( Agricultural Technology).
Nextrans Fund is a fund focused on seeking high-growth technology startups, as evidenced by its diversified portfolio across sustainable growth sectors such as food waste management solutions and electric vehicles, along with emerging fields like Edtech, Proptech (real estate technology), SaaS, etc. The lack of industry or sector restrictions is considered a risk diversification strategy for Nextrans.
Nextrans is one of the most active foreign venture capital firms in the Vietnamese market, with 32 startups in its portfolio. This venture capital fund from South Korea began operating in Vietnam in 2015, behind a number of prominent startups such as Luxstay, JamJa, Thuocsi.vn, Base, Okela, Ecomobi, VDES, Ecotruck, etc.
This investment fund has recently seen positive developments in its investments.
In early May 2023, BuyMed, a Vietnamese pharmaceutical startup in Nextrans' investment portfolio, received an additional $51.5 million in Series B funding from UOB Venture Management, US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Smilegate Investment, and Cocoon Capital.
BuyMed's vision is to revolutionize the $73 billion healthcare market (estimated by 2024) in Asia, making it more accessible and affordable, rather than the fragmented landscape it currently faces.
BuyMed is a startup company that operates the e-commerce website Thuocsi.vn, acting as a "bridge" connecting pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors with 35,000 pharmacies and clinics across all 63 provinces and cities nationwide. In addition to Vietnam, BuyMed is currently present in three other Southeast Asian countries: Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia.
In January 2021, BuyMed successfully raised $9 million in a Series B funding round led by Smilegate Investment, with participation from B Capital Group and previous investors Cocoon Capital, Genesia Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Nextrans. BuyMed has also successfully raised $33.5 million in Series B funding rounds.
Thus, the total amount of capital that this startup has successfully raised through various funding rounds has reached nearly $100 million from many different investors.
Operating in the HealthTech sector, BuyMed was founded in Singapore in 2018 by Peter Nguyen (co-founder of Thuocsi.vn); Nguyen Huu Minh Hoang (CEO of BuyMed) and Vuong Dinh Vu (co-founder of Thuocsi.vn).
Invest in small things, and focus on the human element.
Nextrans Investment Fund primarily focuses on identifying and investing in promising startup companies across three markets: South Korea, the United States, and Vietnam. Currently, Nextrans manages a portfolio of over 70 companies in various sectors.
Nextrans has been investing in Vietnam since 2015 and is the backer of the e-commerce platform Tiki and the startup Wealthtech Infina.
In late November 2022, Nextrans also led a group that invested $4.5 million in Cooky, a Vietnamese e-grocery platform. Accordingly, the online grocery shopping platform Cooky, founded by veteran entrepreneurs Dang Hoang Minh and Nguyen Thanh Dai, received $4.5 million from two investment funds, Nextrans and Do Ventures. These are the founding members of Foody, a pioneering food delivery service in the Vietnamese market, which was later acquired by SEA Group, a leading Southeast Asian internet conglomerate. The Cooky mobile app currently has millions of downloads after more than two years since its launch.
The pandemic has significantly boosted the demand for online grocery shopping, and this consumer behavior continues to be maintained in Vietnam thanks to its young population's trust in technology products. Vietnam's e-grocery market is projected to reach US$1.5 billion by 2025.
Nextrans CEO Seungho Chae expects the grocery market to innovate and become more efficient. Cooky's innovative model will make meal preparation more convenient.
At Nextrans, Le Han Tue Lam is considered a bridge connecting startups. Ms. Tue Lam (born in 1994) is a prominent and familiar figure in the Venture Capital industry in recent years. She serves as the Representative Director of Nextrans Fund in Vietnam, responsible for the Southeast Asian and US markets.
For their part, in their interviews with the media, Tuệ Lâm and Nextrans have never encouraged founders to prioritize attracting a lot of money or achieving a high valuation. The key emphasis is on purpose, direction, and the human element – "it's important who you work with," and which "partner" you find.
In recent years, Vietnam's technology startup sector has become an attractive destination, drawing the attention of many domestic and foreign investors. Funds from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and other countries have all taken notice.
According to DealStreetAsia, VinaCapital Ventures, the venture capital arm of asset management firm VinaCapital in Vietnam, plans to launch its second fund worth $100 million in 2023, which will focus on providing growth capital to companies.
At an economic forum held late last year, Chris Chae, CEO of South Korean investment fund Nextrans, expressed his belief that within the next 10 years, "Vietnam will become the best-performing developing country and create significant changes, especially in Southeast Asia and the Asia- Pacific region."
The sixth season of Shark Tank Vietnam officially launched on September 19th in Ho Chi Minh City. This year, in addition to familiar faces from previous Shark Tank seasons such as Shark Binh, Shark Hung, Shark Louis Nguyen, and Shark Hung Anh, there are two brand-new sharks – Shark Bui Quang Minh (Minh Beta) and Shark Le Han Tue Lam. Shark Tue Lam is particularly noteworthy not only for being the only female shark but also for being the youngest.
The female "shark," born in 1994, is currently the Representative Director of Nextrans Vietnam Investment Fund and was once one of the top young entrepreneurs on Forbes' list of 300 talents under 30 in various fields across Asia.
Source
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds a phone call with the CEO of Russia's Rosatom Corporation.](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvphoto.vietnam.vn%2Fthumb%2F1200x675%2Fvietnam%2Fresource%2FIMAGE%2F2025%2F12%2F11%2F1765464552365_dsc-5295-jpg.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Comment (0)