Taking stock of Vietnam’s undervalued agritech sector

This week, On the Rise explores what’s holding back Vietnam’s agritech, Neuron Mobility’s revenue growth, and the accelerator boom in Southeast Asia. [Read from your browser]( On the Rise 🚀 Welcome to On the Rise! Delivered every Tuesday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in emerging tech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. Written by Collin Furtado Journalist Hello {NAME} As a kid, I spent most of my school summer breaks on my grandparents’ poultry and crop farm in South India. This half-hectare property gave me a glimpse of what a farmer's life was like, and “backbreaking” is the word that comes to mind. Every day, my grandfather and uncle would wake up around 5 a.m. to feed the chickens and cattle and start work on the field. They would then inspect the crops and assess for damage due to pests or bad weather. It was heartbreaking when an entire crop of mangoes and cashews for the season were destroyed because of heavy rain. Those days seem to be in the distant past now, as more farmers today adopt agritech solutions that help automate tasks, monitor the environment, increase productivity, and reduce wastage of resources. Agritech startups have also gotten the attention of investors. In Indonesia, for instance, these players have seen an over 60% rise in funding amount till September 2022 to reach US$216.9 million, according to [Tech in Asia data](. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case for Vietnam, as my colleague Huong highlights in this week’s Big Story. Only a handful of agritech startups in the country have raised external funding as they grapple with the slow adoption of technology among smallholder farmers, who are mainly concerned with domestic supply chain issues. Despite these challenges, investors see the promise in Vietnam’s agritech. Speaking of promise, our other Big Story shines a light on the earnings of e-scooter startup Neuron Mobility. My colleague Shadine wrote about the Singapore-based company, which posted a 2.3x revenue growth in 2021 and expanded its operations to 22 cities from just seven a year earlier. Although Neuron exited South Korea just months after it launched there, it has seen rapid growth in Australia, Canada, and the UK. Another thing that’s swiftly growing is the number of accelerators in Southeast Asia, which we take a deeper look at in this edition’s Making Waves. -- Collin  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORIES 1️⃣ [The challenge and potential of Vietnam's agritech sector]( Agritech firms in the country face an uphill task to digitalize a fragmented industry. 2️⃣ [Neuron Mobility’s revenue doubles but losses widen]( The e-scooter firm exited South Korea in less than a year to focus on markets with high barriers to entry and low competition.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  MAKING WAVES  Accelerators are not slowing down amid a funding winter Here’s what happened: - An increasing number of accelerators are launching in Southeast Asia. - These new players are seeing soaring demand amid the funding winter. - More sector-specific niche programs have been introduced this year, especially in Web3. Here’s our take: Southeast Asia is in the midst of an accelerator renaissance. In the last three years, [Iterative]( [Techsauce]( [Upturn]( [Visa]( and [Cradle]( were among the firms that rolled out their own accelerators in the region. Even US-based accelerator Techstars is targeting Singapore - it’s looking to [hire a managing director]( in the city-state. These startup-building programs have always been sought after, but demand is set to skyrocket even during this funding winter. Singapore-based Iterative, which launched in 2020, says that it has been receiving double the number of applications per batch, with its last cohort getting 750 to 1,000 requests. Icetea Labs, which is based in both the city-state and Vietnam, rolled out an eight-week accelerator program in August. It attracted 259 applicants, but only six were chosen. This rampant demand has been met with a series of new program launches. Creating such programs has become easier, as the pandemic cast a spotlight on digitally enabled conferences, making geography less of a hindrance. Furthermore, the diversification of startup verticals has driven up the need for more niche, sector-specific accelerators. Whether it's [BlueChilli’s]( Singapore healthtech accelerator, the [FEW ESG]( accelerator, or the [UOB Greentech]( accelerator, which all launched in Southeast Asia this year, these programs harness industry-specific skills to ensure that firms receive the most relevant guidance. However, the greatest influx of launches seems to have come from the Web3 industry. [BNB Chain]( [Cronos]( [BRI Ventures]( and [Animoca Brinc Guild]( are among the newest accelerators in this ecosystem. This is unsurprising as the Web3 industry is one of the most popular spaces for innovation and is still at a nascent stage. “In the crypto market, everything changes so quickly, so founders need the mindset to adapt to the change to be sustainable,” [Thi Truong]( Icetea's founder and CEO, tells Tech in Asia. Unlike most programs, Icetea's accelerator asks startups for member fees instead of taking equity. Its goal is to bolster the ecosystem and create a network of applications to strengthen the Web3 economy. Other companies such as Google have undertaken the same mission. After rolling out its Circular Economy program this year, the tech giant is looking to develop innovative solutions across sectors. Starting with its Launchpad Accelerator, Google has since offered [global initiatives]( focused on gaming, women-led firms, climate change, and voice AI, among others. Google does not take equity or charge any fees. “Startups are seeing new opportunities in certain industries [but] find that they don't really have the know-how or the resources to capture that opportunity,” says [Thye Yeow Bok]( Google's head of startup ecosystem for Southeast Asia and South Asia. The presence of these niche sector accelerators has resulted in founders joining multiple programs at a time. Iterative co-founder [Hsu Ken Ooi]( observes how “there's a lot of accelerator-hopping in Southeast Asia,” which is “kind of unique” to the region. Maybe it's common in other regions and around the world, but “in the US, it's not a thing, you go to one or you go to none,” he tells Tech in Asia. “Even though the programs are similar, there are founders who find different values in each accelerator. I've even seen a lot of our entrepreneurs join many other accelerators,” says [Syifa Zakia]( the Indonesia manager of Endeavor’s ScaleUp Program. However, accelerators can be distracting to founders, especially when they’re joining more than one. Since these events can last up to six months, they can take up valuable time that founders could be spending to run and build the company - crucial tasks in an economic downturn. Plus, as more accelerators require membership fees, founders may not have the funds to spare in these tough times. These programs also allow accelerators to take large amounts of equity - from 5% to 10% - at a relatively low cost. This is cumbersome when entrepreneurs are still looking to raise more funding even as they join multiple programs. Yet demand remains high regardless of the drawbacks, and these accelerators have no plans to scale back even amid the poor macro conditions. Sequoia’s Surge and Endeavor’s Scale Up, for example, will keep their current capacities. On the other hand, Icetea Labs is bullish: It expects applications to double and is planning to launch two cohorts next year from just one. Meanwhile Iterative aims to expand its cohort size from 19 to 30 startups. -- Shadine  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI [Twists and turns in Penang’s tech ambitions]( The state is known for its robust electrical and electronics sector but has trailed Kuala Lumpur in digital and tech investments.  --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the emerging tech scene [here](. 1️⃣ Matchday, a new venture focusing on European football founded by e-scooter startup Spin’s founder Derrick Ko, has [received backing from Play Time]( the new investment firm of soccer legend Lionel Messi. Based in the US, Play Time seeks to invest in startups and teams that revolve around sports and tech. It is also an investor in football-focused startup AC Momento. 2️⃣ Singapore biotech firm AUM Biosciences is [going public through a merger]( with US-based blank-check firm Mountain Crest. The merger is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023 and will give AUM Biosciences a valuation of US$400 million. 3️⃣ Indonesian co-working startup CoHive has had its [debt payment obligations temporarily suspended]( by a court in Jakarta. If the East Ventures-backed firm can’t pay back its creditors and reach an agreement with them by the time the ruling expires, the judge will declare the debtor bankrupt. 4️⃣ Shift4Good, a VC fund dedicated to sustainable mobility, has announced the [first close of its Fund I at US$98.2 million](. In the next five years, it will back about 30 startups in their series A and B rounds, including firms in Southeast Asia. 5️⃣ IPO-bound Zoomcar has announced a [US$10 million financing]( in connection with its SPAC merger with Innovative International Acquisition Corp, a US-based blank-check firm.  --------------------------------------------------------------- That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preference center. See you next week! [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( | [HIRE]( | [FIND JOBS]( P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](  Copyright © 2022 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894