Lotte Accelerator Corporation and the VSVA ink trategic cooperation agreement. (Photo: baoquocte.vn)
Hanoi (VNA) – Lotte Accelerator Corporation, an accelerator and
venture capital firm under Lotte Group from the Republic of Korea (RoK), will
pour at least 1 million USD into Vietnamese startups in the first five years.
The money will be channeled through an alliance with Vietnam Silicon Valley
Accelerator (VSVA), which was established based on the Vietnam Silicon Valley
(VSV) project.
The RoK venture fund and the VSVA inked strategic cooperation agreement last
weekend to set up the first venture investment fund designed for startups in
Vietnam. The move is expected to serve as a catalyst for the venture investment
market in the country.
Lotte Accelerator’s capital will be prioritised for retail, information and
technology (IT) and trade.
Lotte Accelerator and the VSVA will discuss before making investment decision,
said Jin Sung Rhee, CEO of Lotte Accelerator.
Along with pumping in capital, the RoK venture fund also plans to organise
short-term training sources for Vietnamese startups in the RoK, he noted, given
that his country has thorough understanding of startup ecosystem.
“Vietnam is one of the fastest stably growing economies in the world where
Lotte Group has established a strong footprint in various sectors, from real
estate, retail, distribution, to commerce and IT. It is a big market and
startups are potential. That is why we want to invest in,” he said.
Before joining hands with Lotte Accelerator, the VSV trained and offered
investment support to over 50 Vietnamese startups.
According to Tran Van Tung, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology,
strategic collaboration between the two accelerators is a considerable stride
for business accelerator models.
The VSV project, the Government’s first project to endorse startups, was
introduced in 2013 when international venture funds set foot in Vietnam and the
country was housing a system of incubators; however, startups’ access to the
funds was limited, Tung underlined.
He noticed that seeing the benefits that startups and innovation bring to
socio-economic development, the ministry supported the implementation of
Business Accelerate models and the VSVA has been carried out since 2014 with
significant achievements.
The VSVA has incubated 50 companies, several of which attracted next rounds of
funding from regional venture capital firms.
Thach Le Anh, VSV Founder, said that success of a startup depends not only on
investors but also mentors who helps the new firm approach the investors.
The VSV pays due attention to cooperation with foreign partners to seek market
and learn experience, she added.-VNA