TelePro technicians. The telemarketing enterprise is among six Topica Founder Institute graduates that have received US$50,000 worth of funding each from the Singaporean investor Insignia Ventures. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyet

Six Vietnamese start-up firms have raised at least US$50,000 each from the Singaporean investor Insignia Ventures at the seed funding round.

This is the minimum funding guaranteed by the Singaporean firm for start-up businesses that graduate from the training programme of Topica Founder Institute.

TFI graduates receiving funding this time include on-demand telemarketing firm TelePro, travel ticker booking firm Cheep Cheep and enterprise software developer Clavis Aurea.

The programme also marks the first of its kind between an investment fund and a Vietnamese start-up incubator, proving the quality of Vietnamese start-up community has been growing.

The maximum funding a TFI graduate may receive from Insignia Ventures is $500,000. Funding will be automatically disbursed without evaluating the start-up’s chance of success.

According to series A venture capital firm Cento Ventures and the early-stage venture fund ESP Capital, there were 56 investment deals worth total VND250 million ($10,750) in the first six months of 2019 that targeted Vietnamese start-up companies, beating last year’s same figure. — VNS