Validus Vietnam, the Vietnam entity of Southeast Asia’s SME growth financing platform Validus; TTC Group (TTC), an established multi-industry conglomerate in Vietnam and Indochina, and Do Ventures, a leading early-stage venture investment fund in Vietnam unveiled a joint venture to drive financial inclusion and empower the growth of underserved SMEs in Vietnam.
The JV underscores the mutual commitment of all parties to advancing SME growth in Vietnam and creates multiple synergies – one of which is TTC’s large ecosystem of SMEs across the energy, real estate, cane sugar, and hospitality industries in Vietnam that Mr. Dang Hong Anh has been managing as Vice Chairman.
Moreover, with Mr. Dang’s participation in the role of managing, operating, and consulting as Chairman of DHAC cum Chairman of Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association – the largest scale organisation with more than 9,000 members and 66 chapters across Vietnam, SMEs will benefit from access to relevant parties in a closed-loop in which business interactions become more powerful and speedy.
At the same time, Do Ventures’ deep expertise in the emerging fintech landscape in Vietnam will be strong support for Validus Vietnam’s growth ambitions, and the JV will benefit from potential synergies with portfolio companies under Do Ventures in future.
SMEs play a pivotal role in Vietnam’s economy; however, access to credit remains a pressing issue for SME development in Vietnam, with the SME financing gap standing at 12 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP). According to a World Bank Survey on the impact of Covid-19 on firms in Vietnam, the lack of access to finance has been exacerbated as liquidity remains a challenge under a continuous reduction in demand. About 50 per cent of firms have under three months of cash flow, and over 60 per cent of firms have reported some difficulties with access to finance.
Dang Hong Anh, Chairman of DHAC, said: “Contributing to the recovery and growth of SMEs is a key priority for us, and this JV will create sustainable value for the SMEs in our ecosystem.”
Validus Co-founder and Group CEO Mr. Nikhilesh Goel, said: “As Validus Vietnam scales to the next phase of growth, this JV reaffirms our mission to drive financial inclusion and increase SMEs’ access to affordable credit. Using our proven proprietary data-driven approach and credit-scoring models, we will leverage synergies to expand credit access, alleviate liquidity challenges and bring value to SMEs in all parts of the supply chain.”
Ms. Vy Le, General Partner of Do Ventures, said: “The pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of SMEs in Vietnam, and there is a large opportunity for fintechs to create meaningful and lasting impact through partnerships and technology. We’re excited to be at the forefront of this and we look forward to harnessing synergies to strengthen SME resilience, drive growth for SMEs, and in turn, the economy.”
