ISC-AVV (IFC-45019)

Countries
  • Vietnam
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Active
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Aug 11, 2021
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
ASCEND VIETNAM VENTURES
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Equity
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 30.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Oct 18, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Mar 14, 2022

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the bank's website, "the proposed investment is for up to US$3 million equity in AVV Alpha, L.P., (“AVV”, or the “Fund”). AVV is a US$50 million (target) Vietnam focused venture capital fund. The Fund will be investing in seed and pre-A stage technology-driven opportunities, mostly focusing on fintech, enterprise services, online commerce, health technology, education technology, media, and logistics."                                                 

People Affected By This Project
People Affected By This Project refers to the communities of people likely to be affected positively or negatively by a project.

The Project is expected to align with the AIMM Rating for the Startup Catalyst Envelope.

IFC anticipates that the Project would result in increased access to seed stage equity for digital startups in Vietnam, especially for women founders. The Project is also expected to increase the ability for startups to succeed and scale digital businesses, through the Fund’s dedicated mentorship programs and window for follow-on funding.

Beyond the Project, this investment has the potential to develop the start-up ecosystem and initial building blocks for venture capital markets in Vietnam, via demonstration and replication, enabling, and capacity building channels. IFC’s investment is expected to send a signal on the viability of investing in digital startups established in Vietnam. IFC’s support also enables creation of a constant and quality pipeline of investment opportunities that investors at Series A stage and beyond.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

According to the Bank, the IFC is proposing up to US$3 million investment in AVV Alpha, L.P., not to exceed 20% of total commitments.

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

According to the IFC, the Fund will be managed by AVV Alpha GP LLC, a Vietnam-focused venture capital fund manager led by two partners: Edward Thai and Binh Tran. According to Pitchbook AVV Alpha is a 2021 vintage early stage venture capital fund managed by Ascend Vietnam Ventures. The fund is located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and invests in Vietnam. It prefers investment ranging from USD 2 million to USD 5 million up to 25 startups.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Ascend Vietnam Ventures
Investor Relations
Inquiries

ir@ascendvietnam.com

https://ascendvietnam.com

 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

How it works

How it works