Grab, today announced the launch of Grab Ventures Ignite, an accelerator programme for early-stage startups, which it said is a part of the Grab for Good development roadmap in Vietnam which aims to create greater social and economic benefits for the country through technology.
Grab Ventures Ignite will nurture and support promising Vietnamese startups in their journey to become national champions in Vietnam’s tech startup ecosystem, in line with the government’s national strategy to create 10 technology unicorns by 2030.
Vietnam is the first country in Southeast Asia where Grab is launching Grab Ventures Ignite (GVI), it’s early-stage startup support programme.
GVI brings Grab’s unique strengths and capabilities as a regional tech platform to nurture Vietnamese early-stage start-ups. The launch of GVI marks the expansion of Grab’s umbrella of startup programmes which currently includes Grab Ventures Velocity (GVV), Grab’s flagship startup scale-up programme. GVV has so far supported the growth of 15 startups regionally across two batches of the programme.
In support of the Vietnamese Government’s objective to develop the national start-up ecosystem, Grab Ventures Ignite signed a strategic partnership with Vietnam’s National Innovation Center (under the Ministry of Planning and Investment). Under the partnership, Grab Ventures Ignite and the NIC will collaborate jointly in planning and executing the GVI program, accelerating the development of digital economy and providing potential startups with support.
GVI’s programme partners include regional venture capital firm Gobi Partners, Toong – Coworking Space Developer, YKVN, and Amazon Web Services. Participating startups also benefit from a curated immersion programme hosted in Singapore by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority and cross-border sharing with Singapore-based startups. Programme winners will be offered investments and in-kind benefits.
Nguyen Thai Hai Van
“The startup ecosystem in Vietnam is growing incredibly fast, and tech clusters are also expanding geographically. We are proud to be part of this growth story and actively contributing to it, whether that’s through our R&D centre in Ho Chi Minh City, investing in partnerships with local startups like Moca, or enabling millions of people in Vietnam to have greater access to digital services. Today, we are excited to launch Grab Ventures Ignite with the backing of Vietnam National Innovation Center and other world-class partners. With Grab Ventures Ignite, we are committed to encouraging tech entrepreneurship and support the growth of vibrant startup ecosystem in Vietnam”,
said Ms. Nguyen Thai Hai Van, Managing Director, Grab Vietnam.
Grab Ventures Ignite will evaluate startups based on a range of criteria including but not limited to core team strength, sector attractiveness, value proposition, business model, and possible synergies with Grab’s ecosystem. The flagship programme will be offering:
- Cash investments for potential startups: The programme will announce up to 5 winners and each winner will have a chance to win up to $150,000 in investment. Gobi Partners is Grab’s funding partner for this programme. This makes Grab Ventures Ignite investment one of the biggest amongst Vietnam startup programmes so far. All startups in the cohort will also have the opportunity to raise more funding from external investors during Demo Day at the end of the programme, with the presence of prominent investors from across the region.
- In-kind benefits: All programme participants will receive cloud benefits up to $100,000 each. In addition, each programme winner will receive 6-months of co-working space, legal and financial advisory at the end of the programme.
- Professional training and mentorship: All programme participants will get access to 14-weeks of world-class expert workshops, 1:1 mentorship from senior leaders, immersion trips to regional Grab markets, peer learning and networking.
- Cross-border exchange with Singaporean startups: as part of Grab’s strategic collaboration with IMDA – PIXEL, participating startups will benefit from Grab’s cross-border sharing to better understand market landscape.
Featured image credit: Unsplash
