Business Strategy
The first Vietnam Accelerator celebrates impact in final pitch day
From education to agriculture, the grant awardees are applying learnings and new funding to transform their communities
January 9th, 2023
Vietnam Business Accelerator cohort
Teams learned how to develop business strategies for scale, design better customer solutions, and make funding asks through effective financial storytelling and high-quality pitching. They also received access to a global social impact network, Acumen Academy's Foundry, and a community of mentors and fellow like-minded entrepreneurs throughout Vietnam.
"Acumen guided me, a technical geek lacking field business experience, in how to understand the market, execute ideas, and manage the whole business," said Nam Vu, founder and CEO of healthcare company tMonitor.
In addition to tMonitor, the group spans a wide variety of sectors, such as agriculture (Hachi, Dakado, Agritage), environmental (Lagom Vietnam, Green Joy, ECO Vietnam, One4One), energy (EGreen Technology, Multi Meter Machine), healthcare (Survival Skills Vietnam), and education (WeGrow).
FUV offered additional coordinated events for the cohort, including a speaker series that provided nuance and team bonding to the educational experience, as well as a Final Impact Summit of workshops. The accelerator culminated in a Final Program Showcase.
The cohort and their mentors started the Showcase in FUV campus's exhibition hall, where attendees could wander to each team's table and learn about the businesses at their leisure.
Huyen Luong, founder of ECO Vietnam, presents her compost solution product at the Final Showcase exhibition.
During the Showcase's second half, the team's presented impressive pitches and received industry feedback from the panel of six judges diverse in the working sectors of social enterprise leadership and investment in impact and climate, including Vietnam Oman Investment, CSIP (Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion), Phitrust Asia, Climate Fund Managers, and Udentity and Change Leader Academy.
After a difficult deliberation, the panel ultimately selected three grantees — a finalist and two runner-ups — to receive a $10K grant and $5K grants respectively.
Judges panel from left to right: Vuong X. Hung Kelvin (Climate Fund Managers), Pham Kieu Oanh (Founder & CEO of CSIP), Chi-Linh Nguyen-Phuong (Co-Founder of Udentity & Change Leader Academy), Nguyen Hong Son (CEO of Vietnam Oman Investment)
The grantee finalist, WeGrow, aims to address the lack of sexuality education in Vietnam’s school systems, a gap that continues to have a negative impact on the physical and mental well-being of its students. The company works to empower schools with the tools to educate their students, including a curriculum, classes, online courses, books, and creative sex-ed kits. These kits are intended to aid parents as they accompany their maturing children. The program’s offerings hope to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexual violence, and to educate children ages 4-18 about their own sexual health.
With the awarded funds, WeGrow plans to open and strengthen a new branch, including hiring new leadership roles and purchasing software to optimize internal processes. These investments are expected to grow and support the staff, develop new training programs, and reach more students with sex-ed.
The grant award is presented to the accelerator finalist, Linh Hoang of WeGrow (not pictured).
Runner up Agritage is built around a vision to replicate the Vietnam Heritage Agriculture ecosystem, preserving and celebrating the land’s indigenous culture along the way. Through their work with the land, they have generated stable agricultural and tourism-based income for families affected by natural disasters. They also sell agricultural products straight from the soil they sow.
They plan to use grant money to standardize tourism services, equip homestay sites, and undertake a study tour for local farmers involved in tourism. These improvements are expected to strengthen local service providers' skills, draw more tourists and provide them better experiences, and increase local income.
Acumen Academy Copywriter
Emily Hooper
Emily is a New York City-based copywriter for Acumen Academy. She has explored topics around gender equality, leadership, dignified work, sustainability and more. When she's not writing, Emily is trying new recipes, daydreaming about owning a dog, and pursuing her passion of filmmaking.
