Vietnam-based FEBE Ventures, a $25-million VC firm launched in 2019, has announced four new investments following its first deal in Singapore 3D-printed invisible brace startup Zenyum late last year.
FEBE Ventures has backed Vietnamese fintech startup Nano and proptech company Propzy, Singapore-headquartered logistics startup Janio and Thai SaaS solutions provider Vara.
In Janio, which has raised its Series A round, FEBE Ventures has co-invested with Sequoia Capital and Insignia Ventures Partners. Simultaneously, in Vara’s seed round, it has invested with Sequoia Capital.
Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
FEBE Ventures invests in both Vietnamese startups and Southeast Asian companies, that have operations in Vietnam.
Janio provides cross-border logistics solutions in 12 different locations in Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Mainland China and Thailand. Meanwhile, Vara targets to offer enterprise software solutions to businesses across Southeast Asia.
In Vietnam, Propzy has raised funds from backers including South Korea’s Stonebridge Capital, GS Shop and DT&Investment, as well as Insignia Ventures, TNB Aura and Next Billion Ventures. Nano is a seed-stage consumer credit startup founded by former Vietnam head for Uber, Dzung Dang.
These new investments come at a time when the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still looming large in the region.
“The current pandemic is a challenging hurdle,” said Olivier Raussin, FEBE Ventures’ managing partner.
“But we optimistically believe that with pragmatism and resilience, Southeast Asian startup founders will adapt and soon see the light at the end of the tunnel and live a ‘new normal’,” he added.
Raussin pointed out that changes of habit and new opportunities for innovation will arise as operating costs have gone down, more talents will be available and startups will face less competition, allowing them to operate in a more capital-efficient way.
In addition to that, VC firms in the region still have a lot of dry powder to deploy at least in the next three years, he opines.
FEBE Ventures is managed by Eric Merlin, Jean-Marc Merlin and Raussin. The former two are the founders of AppleTree, a business group, which started out in Vietnam in 1993 and has to date operated in 21 countries, comprising more than 20 companies.
FEBE Ventures earlier said its limited partners include family offices in Asia, the US and Europe, as well as entrepreneurs and senior executives at Linkedin, Google, Netflix and Goldman Sachs.
