The Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, the Investment and Business Partners (IBP) and the Business Startup Support Centre (BSSC) have signed an MoU that promises to give Vietnamese businesses and startups an opportunity to access investment funds from Alibaba Group as well as the Hong Kong and Chinese markets.

"I see many forums discussing the scarcity of investment capital for innovative businesses ... The arrival of the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund in Viet Nam is like a warm and supportive "wind," offering additional resources to assist Vietnamese innovative businesses in overcoming these obstacles,” said Truong Ly Hoang Phi, chairwoman and CEO of IBP and founder and strategic advisor of BSSC.

“The Alibaba Group has a large ecosystem that can help startups go international, expand into new markets, find and optimise resources to help companies develop. I hope the collaboration between Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, BSSC, and IBP will help the Vietnamese startup ecosystem get closer to the Hong Kong and China markets," she added.

The agreement was signed at a workshop held as part of the Innovation Workshop Series in HCM City last week, where Cindy Chow, executive director of Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, introduced about the fund and called on Vietnamese start-ups to participate in its JUMPSTARTER 2023 global pitch competition.

Chow said participating in JUMPSTARTER will provide Vietnamese startups a chance to learn about Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area market.

The Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund considers investing in competition winners. Even if the startups do not win, participating in JUMPSTARTER will provide significant value to startups by connecting with investors and startup alumni of the programme, she said.

Jumpstarter 2023 is open for applications from now until May 14. The winning start-ups will be honoured at a ceremony in November in Hong Kong.

The competition will offer a HK$1 million (US$127.38 million) cash prize. In addition, the top start-ups will also all be eligible and considered for investment of up to US$5 million.

Teddy Lui, operations director of Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, said all startups that had operated for less than five years and had a valuation of less than $20 million would be eligible to participate in the programme.

The Innovation Workshop Series is a community-driven programme for Vietnamese businesses aimed at sharing practical experience with businesses through success stories, new ways of thinking, innovation, and survival strategies from large corporations and local and international experts. The IWS is initiated and hosted by IBP, the Young Business Association of Ho Chi Minh City, and BSSC. — VNS