Touchstone Partners announces first close of inaugural fund focusing on Vietnam startups

Ho Chi Minh City, April 13th, 2021 - Touchstone Partners announces the first close of its inaugural US$50m venture capital fund backed by notable investors including Pavilion Capital, Vulcan Capital and several other institutional investors and family offices. Touchstone is founded by Khanh Tran, former founding partner of VinaCapital Ventures, and successful serial entrepreneur Tu Ngo, co-founder and chairwoman of YOLA Education.

Touchstone Partners (“Touchstone”) aims to be a leading early-stage VC investor in Vietnam’s fast-growing technology ecosystem. With a young population of nearly 98 million and with 75% of its people in the working age category, Vietnam is uniquely poised to capitalize on a demographic and digital dividend in a post-COVID world.

The country is teeming with entrepreneurial energy, fueled by a large base of local technical, engineering and corporate resources, as well as a healthy surge of returnees after years of education and work abroad, eager to chart their own destinies and build the future of Vietnam. With more than US$2bn in startup funding in the past 5 years, Vietnam’s technology ecosystem is now at an important inflection point, with a large, growing and Internet-savvy middle-income population, a conducive environment for innovation and technology adoption, and stable government policy coming together at the right time.

The first steps of the entrepreneurial journey can often be the hardest and Touchstone is well-positioned to be the local go-to partner for founders in Vietnam. Touchstone supports founders through local insights and access, coupled with a global network and reach that resonates with the founders’ needs and aspirations. Sectors of interest include fintech, real estate, healthcare, edtech, and technology that enhances efficiency in major Vietnamese value chains such as manufacturing and agriculture.

Khanh Tran graduated from Nottingham University with a BEng and MSc degree in Electronic Communication and Computer Engineering. He was among the pioneering founders of VinaCapital Ventures after stints at Goldman Sachs and Grab. Tu Ngo, a Stanford alumna, is a well-respected serial entrepreneur in the Vietnam's startup community. Tu founded and built YOLA into a market leader in hybrid online and offline English training in Vietnam. She also helped found ELSA, an edtech startup building an award-winning AI app that teaches pronunciation. Khanh and Tu met during their MBA programs at INSEAD where they shared a common vision of leveraging their investment, operations and founder experiences to back the next generation of founders in Vietnam.

Mr. Khanh Tran, Managing Partner of Touchstone, said: “With Touchstone, we want to be a force for positive social development and to set high standards for venture investing in Vietnam. We will play a key role in supporting startups, prioritizing long-term cooperation, fairness, transparency and mutual respect. We’re grateful to be supported by a group of prestigious institutional LPs such as Pavilion Capital and Vulcan Capital who believe in the potential of Vietnam and of Touchstone.”

Ms. Tu Ngo, General Partner, added: “Having been a founder for more than 10 years, I understand how hard yet meaningful it is to turn ideas into reality. There are gaps in Vietnam that when addressed, we can help founders to go faster while focusing on the right things. Khanh and I have a bias for product-driven teams and we’re deeply passionate about supporting our founders to succeed. Touchstone is our way to show the world that scalable innovation and real impact can happen in Vietnam and can be built by our very own.”

The Touchstone team is rounded out by several key executives with vast experience in the local and international markets. Nam Le, Principal, has previous experience at McKinsey, Morgan Stanley, Galaxy Studio, YOLA and Bobby Liu, Director of EIR, was the founder of HubIT and Founders Institute Vietnam. Every member of the Touchstone team not only possesses an in-depth understanding of the Vietnam market and technology ecosystem, but also brings a great amount of empathy and respect for founders and their teams. Touchstone is truly excited to unleash the next wave of Vietnamese technology startups and to help founders on their journey to build world-class companies that will serve Vietnam and beyond.

About Touchstone Partners

Touchstone Partners aims to be a leading early-stage VC investor in Vietnam to catalyze Vietnam’s tech ecosystem to new heights. Touchstone Partners aspires to be the local go-to partner for founders, through local insights and access and coupled with global networks and reach that resonate with founders’ needs and aspirations. Sectors of interest include fintech, real estate, healthcare, edtech, and technology that enhances efficiency in major Vietnamese value chains such as manufacturing and agriculture.

Touchstone Partners has received commitments from notable investors including Pavilion Capital, Vulcan Capital and several other institutional investors and family offices. Touchstone wants to be a force for positive social development and to set high standards for venture investing in Vietnam. We play a key role in supporting startups, prioritizing long-term cooperation, fairness, transparency and mutual respect.

For further information, please visit: www.touchstone.vc or email to: hello@touchstone.vc