The crazy competitive market for Vietnam’s mom-and-pop shops

More: Masayoshi Son steps back from SoftBank Corp., and Grab has chosen banks for its IPO [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter Hello {NAME} Want to get the latest neighborhood gossip? Head to your nearest mom-and-pop store. Mine was the place I had hated the most when I was young because my mom would spend hours chatting there. But now, it’s one of my favorite spots for hanging out to get genuine human connection (plus inside deets on my neighbors). So there’s a sort of melancholy in watching ecommerce preparing to take over these mom-and-pop stores - and Vietnam, in particular, is seeing a growing number of B2B startups targeting them. Today we look at: - The [B2B ecommerce race in Vietnam]( - Travel startup Klook banking US$200 million - Other newsy highlights such as Masayoshi Son stepping back from SoftBank Corp., and Grab choosing the banks for its IPO  ---------------------------------------------------------------  PREMIUM SUMMARY  The future of mom-and-pop shops Yep, ecommerce is booming in Vietnam, but it accounts for only 1% of the sales of FMCG products. A large chunk of the population still buy these essential goods from mom-and-pop stores and wet markets, and pay for them with cash. To digitize these corner stores, startups are springing up all over the country - and investors are getting interested. - Young but mighty backers: Telio is one such B2B ecommerce startup, which raised US$25 million in a series A round from GGV Capital, Tiger Global Management, and Sequoia India last year. The platform helps mom-and-pop stores buy directly from brands, manufacturers, and distributors. - Big and bigger: Similar to Telio, its rival VinShop allows small shop owners to buy goods directly from manufacturers. But that’s where the similarities end: Unlike Telio, VinShop is part of Vietnam’s biggest conglomerate Vingroup, and has a lot of cash and resources at its disposal. - More and more: While Telio and VinShop are the B2B ecommerce leaders currently, the competition is heating up as many new players are entering the market, targeting different niches in the country. Grab is one of them - the Southeast Asian super app recently brought Vietnam’s wet market merchants onto GrabMart in September last year. Read more: [A David vs. Goliath battle in Vietnam’s B2B ecommerce sector](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  STARTUP SPOTLIGHT  More money for traveling Having a beer in Bali sounds like a distant dream these days. But while we aren’t able to travel yet, travel startups are still banking big bucks. Case in point: Hong Kong-based travel firm Klook has recently raised [US$200 million in a series E round]( led by Aspex Management. - The wanderlust story: Founded in 2014, Klook operates a booking platform for travel and leisure experiences worldwide. The company said it has over 100,000 offerings in more than 400 destinations. - Nama-stay closer to home: When the virus hit last year, Klook re-prioritized its core strategies to focus on two major areas: digitizing the booking of travel experiences and launching new verticals such as staycations and car rentals. - Wingin’ the travel plans: During the pandemic, the company claims to have onboarded 150% more activities compared to the same period last year. Klook aims to use the new capital to continue this momentum and develop its merchant software-as-a-service solutions.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  LIVE EVENT How to negotiate term sheets with a VC After months of pitching and fundraising, you finally secured funding verbally from an investor. What comes after is going to be one of the most pivotal moments in a founder’s career: being presented with a term sheet that can shape the future of your startup for the next decade or even longer. But how do you get the nuances of a term sheet right? In this workshop, we’re bringing in Melissa C. Guzy, the co-founder and managing partner of Arbor Ventures who has had more than 25 years of experience, both in the venture capital industry and as an entrepreneur in Asia as well as in Silicon Valley. Guzy will decode the complicated legal structure of a term sheet, the common pitfalls founders must avoid, and how they can negotiate for cleaner and simpler terms that create better alignment between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. [Sign up here today]( to get advice on negotiating term sheets from a VC’s perspective! This event is free for Tech in Asia Core and Live subscribers.  --------------------------------------------------------------- Tech in Asia’s daily newsletter is free for everyone. But if you want to get full access to all of our insightful articles, charts, podcast episodes, workshops, and educational videos, you can do so for just US$1 when you start your [30-day trial subscription]( today.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  QUICK BYTES  1️⃣ Grab names banks for its potential IPO The Southeast Asian super app Grab has selected Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co for a [potential US IPO]( that could raise at least US$2 billion and might happen as soon as the second half of this year. It was reported earlier this month that Grab’s IPO plans came after merger talks with archrival Gojek were dropped.  2️⃣ Masayoshi Son steps down from SoftBank Corp. SoftBank Corp., Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group’s mobile unit, is undergoing a [major management reshuffle]( which will see Masayoshi Son stepping down as chairman. He will be replaced by current Softbank Corp. CEO Ken Miyauchi while chief technology officer Junichi Miyakawa will become the new CEO.  3️⃣ US$1.5 billion for Didi Chuxing to keep on trucking Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing is set to close a [US$1.5 billion round]( of funding for its on-demand trucking unit Didi Freight, an amount that far exceeds its target of US$400 million. Investors include Temasek, Jack Ma’s Yunfeng Capital, and IDG Capital.  4️⃣ Malaysian startup gets more money End-to-end e-fulfillment startup Istore Isend has [raised US$5.5 million]( in a funding round co-led by venture capital firm Gobi Partners and online delivery booking platform EasyParcel. Founded in 2015, the Malaysian startup has developed a system designed to automate ecommerce operations.  5️⃣ Partnership between Blackberry and Baidu Canadian technology company BlackBerry and Chinese search engine giant Baidu have [agreed on a partnership]( that aims to give car manufacturers the tools they need to produce autonomous vehicles in China. Blackberry, once a top smartphone maker, has found success in building QNX, a software solution for automotive subsystems.  6️⃣ Patrick Grove has chosen a SPAC Serial entrepreneur Patrick Grove, who currently runs investment firm Catcha Group, has filed to [raise US$250 million]( through a special purpose acquisition company. The co-founder of startups such as Iproperty, Iflix, Icar Asia, and Instahome is also listed as the CEO and chairman of the blank-check firm Catcha Investment Corp.   ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING - Antler’s Demo Day on February 3  Antler Southeast Asia will be revealing the latest group of companies to join their platform during a virtual live streaming event. These teams have built their companies for the needs of businesses and consumers in a new world. [RSVP to hear the founders pitch]( innovative companies building in FinTech, SaaS, ArtTech, InsurTech, HealthTech, and more. - [Workshop] How to negotiate term sheets with a VC on February 4 After months of pitching and fundraising, one of the most pivotal moments in a founder’s career is when an investor presents them with a term sheet. But the complex legal structure of a term sheet can be too complicated for many. So we brought in Melissa C. Guzy, co-founder and managing partner of Arbor Ventures, who will talk about the common pitfalls that founders must avoid and how they can negotiate for cleaner and simpler terms. [RSVP today]( - Tech in Asia x AWS Fintech Forum on 23 February Join Tech in Asia’s upcoming half-day conference in partnership with AWS to get a headstart on how to accelerate your fintech capabilities. Through a fireside chat, a panel discussion, and a master class, you’ll get to hear Asia’s best thought leaders discuss the region’s fintech landscape, how to build and scale fintech platforms, and more. RSVP for your complimentary seat [here]( - Tech in Asia’s Product Development Conference on April 7 and 8 This year’s conference is centered around a single goal: helping companies build outcome-oriented products. With five tracks from strategy to analytics, we want you to come out of this conference with product and engineering tips to build a winning product. You can get the ticket at an [early bird discount]( today for just US$15 (usual price US$50). Existing Tech in Asia Core, Live, and ID+ subscribers can RSVP at no additional cost [here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  WHO'S HIRING - [VP of Engineering]( at Sellagi (Singapore, Singapore) - [Product Manager]( at Sampingan (Jakarta, Indonesia) - [Lead Data Engineer]( at 99.co (Bandung, Java, Indonesia)  ---------------------------------------------------------------  SHARE WITH YOUR FRIEND Don’t leave your co-workers behind! Share this with them so that they can keep up with what’s going on in the region’s tech scene. Feel free to [drop us some feedback]( if our newsletter today got you feeling smarter (or if it didn’t).  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Thanks for reading! Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love - and sometimes powered by good kopi (or tea). [ADVERTISE]( | [PREMIUM]( | [JOBS]( P.S. 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