Vietnam-focused FEBE Ventures announces $75 million second fund.

FEBE Ventures, a global venture capital firm with a focus on seed-stage investments in Vietnam, has introduced its second fund, totaling $75 million, aimed at supporting early-stage startups. In an announcement on Wednesday, FEBE Ventures, also known as "For Entrepreneurs, By Entrepreneurs," revealed that the expansion includes a larger team and an extended global network, facilitating further growth for the fund. This second fund is 2.5 times larger than its initial one, according to Techcrunch. Additionally, FEBE Ventures disclosed a co-investment collaboration with Tekton Ventures as part of the fund's launch.

While the first fund from FEBE Ventures concentrated on Southeast Asia, the emphasis of the second fund extends to a diverse investment thesis, specifically targeting pre-seed and seed-stage companies across various sectors and locations.

The context for this initiative is set against the backdrop of the Vietnamese startup ecosystem experiencing a decline in 2022. According to the Vietnam Innovation & Tech Investment Report 2023 by Do Ventures and Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC), startups in Vietnam secured 134 deals with a venture capital investment of $634 million, marking a 19% and 56% year-on-year decrease, respectively. The report attributes this substantial decline in venture capital to global uncertainties, including financial instability and market volatility. Notably, deals exceeding $10 million saw a significant reduction to $423 million, accounting for two-thirds of the total figure in 2022, whereas deals below $10 million slightly decreased to $211 million, constituting about one-third of the total.