More than just a South East Asian country with a profoundly distinctive culture, Viet Nam itself is in the golden population period with increasing quality in manpower and an open economy that is always ready to take on new trends. Based on the above competitive advantages, we seek to partner with enterprises/startups in the early stage (Seeding, Pre-series A, Series A) with an investment ranging from 100 thousand to 1.5 million USD. Our only requirements for startups include either of the following:
- LOCAL SPECIALTIES: The value of local specialties, from the sustainable exploitation of material sources to the application of traditional and regionally characteristic techniques, must be highlighted comprehensively during the production and development process of startups.
- BREAK-THROUGH TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION: The core business model must be based on innovative ground-breaking technologies, can solve the society’s most urgent issues, keep up with trends and have future expansion plans into the international market.
INVESTMENT THESIS
Based on the above investment strategy, we evaluate the suitability of our partnered enterprise or startup via the following investment thesis:
- SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (ESG): This is the first and also the core element that ITI takes into consideration in our evaluation process: Environmental Friendliness, Community – society development capability (Social), Optimal business management model (Governance).
- BUSINESS MODEL SERVING LARGE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MARKETS: Vietnam is considered a potential market, with a total population of nearly 100 million people, increasingly improving average GDP per capita of roughly 3,694 USD/person (2021) beside the middle class with the fastest growth rate in Southeast Asia (2020). At the same time, total export ranks 16 globally (2020), a growth rate of 16% in value (2021). These key factors prompt us to highly appreciate the attractiveness of both the domestic market and the country’s export capability. As can be observed from our early-stage investment strategy (Seeding, Pre-seeding), ITI Fund seeks elements beyond mere innovative products, services, or business models. We prioritize startups and projects that can satisfy both the domestic and international market
- HUMAN FACTOR: Human plays the most crucial role in the innovation part of any businesses, accordingly deciding the business’s existence. ITI will, therefore, only cooperate and invest in projects where co-founders have the required in-depth knowledge and practical hands-on experience in their specific field of operation. At the same time, founders must be sensitive and adaptable to market fluctuations, able to connect and coordinate with the company’s pivotal team and uphold the entrepreneurial spirit.