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BUSINESS REPORT

On the radar solutions from BenKon has an extremely

important role, demonstrating the con-
sensus of relevant parties on the journey
Vietnam’s green startups have been attracting a great to realizing the government’s net-zero strat-
deal of attention from various funds and investors. egy by 2050.”
Elsewhere, Buyo, a startup tackling
| By AN CHI global plastic waste, raised pre-seed funding
led by the Singapore-based Aldebaran Cap-
ital in 2023. The specific value of the deal
leven projects that will help tackle ments and ongoing regulatory improve- has not been disclosed. After two years of
climate change in Vietnam have ments across sectors. “We are excited to research and development, Buyo raised
E been selected in the second cohort observe the growing interest from investors $750,000 in investment from international
of Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) Viet- in low-carbon projects in Vietnam and venture capital funds and operates a pilot
nam, according to an announcement from look forward to seeing more successful factory with a capacity of 10 tons a month
the British Embassy in January. Projects engagements between projects and potential in Ho Chi Minh City, which will expand to
cover clean energy and energy transition, investors,” she added. 100 tons a month this year.
e-mobility, AFOLU (agriculture, forestry Previously, sustainability startup Equo,
and other land uses), the circular economy, DRAWING INVESTMENT which specializes in providing plastic-
and waste management, and have the BenKon, a Vietnamese energy-saving free and compostable solutions made
potential to benefit communities around tech startup, successfully raised $500,000 from ingredients such as coffee, coconut,
the country. These projects are seeking a from the Increase-Together-Innovation and sugarcane as an alternative to sin-
total of $436 million in funding. Fund (ITI Fund) in 2023. Founded in 2020, gle-use plastics, successfully raised $1.3
The CFA is part of the UK Government’s BenKon has developed a patented system million in a seed round. Electric motorbike
efforts to help Vietnam meet the commit- that is compatible with more than 99 per startup Dat Bike, meanwhile, has
ments made by Prime Minister Pham cent of air conditioner models on the mar- announced it raised $8 million, led by
Minh Chinh at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 ket. Quick installation helps businesses Jungle Ventures and with the participation
and to offer support to implement the collect data and apply AI to save energy of GSR Ventures, Delivery Hero Ventures,
Vietnam Just Energy Transition Partnership and costs. Wavemaker Partners, and Innoven Capital,
(V-JETP) that was agreed upon in Decem- “BenKon has developed a unique solu- bringing its total fundraising to $16.5
ber 2022. CFA Vietnam is being imple- tion that is difficult to imitate and has a million. The Antler Fund has invested
mented by PwC Vietnam. positive economic and environmental $110,000 in early stage energy storage
Ms. Dinh Thi Quynh Van, Chairwoman impact,” said Ms. Kimmy Dang, Head of startup Altern , which is actively con-
of PwC Vietnam, said the existing landscape the Investment Department at the ITI tributing to Vietnam’s net-zero emissions
is favorable for low-carbon projects, coin- Fund. “Investing in advanced technology goal with innovative sand battery tech-
ciding with Vietnam’s net-zero commit- development activities and applying useful nology called Altern Air. It also received

32 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | FEBRUARY 2024 en.vneconomy.vn