Creatella Impact and Women’s Initiative for Start-ups and Entrepreneurship (WISE) are pleased to announce the winners of the venture competition SheDisrups Vietnam 2021. The competition was launched on November 19, 2021 with the support from GSRD Foundation, Global Affairs Canada in Vietnam and Investing in Women (an initiative of the Australian Government).
“She Disrupts Vietnam aligns with Australia’s vision for inclusive and equitable economies. I am pleased to see how women entrepreneurs are being assisted to scale up their businesses and make a larger positive social and environmental impact. These digital and technology women-led enterprises are creating new jobs, increasing incomes and enhancing their productivity. This is even more important as economies recover from the effects of COVID-19.”- said H.E. Ms Robyn Mudie, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam.
The 20 successful women-led social startups were selected after pitching in front of expert mentors and judges in a 2-round, fully virtual venture competition. All participating startups received 200 hours of mentorship with experienced entrepreneurs, digital specialists and investors from Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Europe and USA.
“We were impressed by the mentorship, so much valuable feedback from mentors with diverse backgrounds, immense knowledge and practical experience. The format of the mentorship round was well designed, we got to pitch to 5 investors within 2 weeks, that allowed us enough time to improve and sharpen our pitching.” – said co-founders of Self Hiil.
These leading ventures are extremely diverse. Their products span over different industries, each exemplifying a unique approach to business, as well as a dedication to important social issues. What they all have in common is the presence of strong-willed women founders, gender-balanced teams, a focus on the Vietnamese market, and a keen eye for innovative tech-for-good solutions to complex challenges.
“It is equally critical that mentors hear from the mentees and beneficiaries. Female entrepreneurs have important perspectives to share; it is important that their voices are heard so that policy frameworks reflect the challenges they face. Global Affairs Canada is pleased to support a quick assessment of digitalization and financial needs of women-led and women-focused business under the SDV2021’s mentorship program.” – said H.E. Deborah Paul, Ambassador of Canada to Vietnam.
Winning startups are: Carota, CyberPurify, Diva Petcare, Dr.Shaving, EQUO International, REAL BEAN COFFEE, IMAGTOR, Launchmart Inc., LMCATION, Marie’s Work At Home, MEDIFOOD.IO, Momby, Multi Meter Machine, OSLA.io, Planté, RecyGlo Co., Ltd , Self Hiil, TRUEBODY and TUBUDD.
“We are very proud of and highly appreciate the capacity and development potential of the 20 winning startups. Many of them have participated in WISE’s support programs and have significant growth since then. With our expertise in accelerating women led startups and international network, our support will continue beyond this program, to create and connect them with further opportunities so that they can lead their business to the higher levels.” – said Tu Thu Hien, CEO of WISE Vietnam.
Following the competition, 20 startups went through an intensive 2-week pre-acceleration training from 14 to 24 February covering modules such as: Impact Measurement and Management, Gender Lens, Technology and Venture Building, Business Model Validation, Go-To Market Strategy and Investment Readiness.
“I really like the SheDisrupts Program where I can strengthen my business plan, get lots of constructive feedback, learn from mentors and experts, as well as connect with like-minded entrepreneurs. It’s such a great experience! I definitely feel more confident and well-prepared to disrupt!.” – said Thu Nguyen, Founder of LMcation, one of the startups accepted into the pre-acceleration program.
Through keynotes, workshops and one-on-one mentoring sessions, participants refined their business and pitching toolbox, and pitched in front of investors during the Demo Day on Friday, February 25 in a fully virtual mode. During the demo day event, a soft launch of the report on Digital Preparedness and Financial Needs Assessment of Social Impact Startups in Vietnam was also made.
“Our aim is to help women-led businesses have access to capital and grow. We are proud to have such distinguished partners in our journey of creating more opportunities for Vietnamese female founders, facilitating learning, accelerating their growth and interactions with investors from Vietnam and abroad. We are thrilled to welcome such talented startups from Vietnam to a global pool of SheDisrupts entrepreneurs and are committed to providing continuous support to them.” – said Guillaume Catella, Co-Executive Director of Creatella Impact.
In addition to direct access to the pre-acceleration training and opportunity to pitch live in Demo Day, the 20 startups will receive such perks as an entry to Techstars, AWS credits from AWS EdStart, fee-free processing with Stripe, a 2-hour design workshop with Styliff Tech, up to 82,000 USD savings with Hubspot, 50,000 USD worth of Segment credits, 10,000 USD worth of Freshwork credit, up to 20,000 USD from Creatella, and the opportunity to receive equity-free seed capital of 5,000 USD provided by Investing in Women.
About the Organizers and Partners of SheDisrupts Vietnam 2021:
Creatella Impact
For early stage social enterprises in emerging markets, committed to providing entrepreneurial innovative solutions for the achievement of SDGs by generating measurable social and environmental impact, Creatella Impact provides venture building, technology execution, mentorship, advisory support, other acceleration programmes, impact investment including financial capital, deal syndication, blended funding and diverse financial instruments.
Website: creatella.org
Contact: programs@creatella.org
WISE Vietnam
With the vision of being the leading organization supporting women-led start-ups and businesses in Vietnam, the Women’s Initiative for Startups and Entrepreneurship (WISE) offers all rounded business development support for women, including capacity building, business incubation and acceleration, business mentoring, improving access to finance and investment; business community building; research and policy advocacy; and fostering connection with resources and opportunities for women to create new startups as well as innovate and grow their businesses.
Website: wisevietnam.org
Contact: contact@wisevietnam.org
Investing in Women
Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian Government, catalyses inclusive economic growth through women’s economic empowerment in South East Asia.
Established in 2016, Investing in Women tackles one of the most critical social and economic issues of our time: gender inequality. Investing in Women uses innovative approaches to improve women’s economic participation as employees and as entrepreneurs and to influence the enabling environment to promote women’s economic empowerment in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar through: Workplace Gender Equality (WGE), Impact Investment for Women’s SMEs, Influencing Gender Norms.
Website: https://investinginwomen.asia/
Canadian Development Assistance and Cooperation in Vietnam
Since 1990, the Government of Canada has contributed over $1.7 billion in international assistance to support Vietnam’s development and poverty reduction efforts. Building upon almost three decades of development cooperation and in alignment with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), Canada continues to work in partnership with Vietnam on strengthening its national policies and institutional governance for more inclusive economic growth and the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Canada is focusing on growth of small and medium enterprises and cooperatives, social impact businesses and entrepreneurship, agricultural value chains and markets, private sector and trade readiness, food security and safety systems, environmental sustainability, climate action and energy transition. Together, Canada and Vietnam are working towards finding new and innovative approaches and resources to meet development challenges, including through more public-private partnerships for greater development impact and more sustainable gains.
Website: https://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/vietnam
GSRD Foundation
GSRD Foundation was founded by the denim brand G-Star RAW in 2007 to create a positive impact on the lives of people and communities in those countries where G-Star products are made, by supporting young people, together with partners, through education, training and coaching. Website: gsrd.com
19 Startups
Carota
Carota’s online counseling service helps young Vietnamese having mental health issues to be connected to qualified mental health service providers to get professional support by solving social stigma and accessibility problems via digital platforms.
CyberPurify
CyberPurify’s AI solutions help Vietnamese children safe online by filtering harmful content at any site, any time, helping parents achieve peace of mind.
Diva Petcare
Diva aims to become the leading provider of premium beauty-care, well-being products for pets, as well as leisure services for pet lovers in VN & SEA. All of our pets would be well-smelling and healthy, and we also bring inclusive love and recreation solutions to all pet lovers.
Dr.Shaving
Dr.Shaving provide people an all-in-one shaving wax by using our secret technology in which bamboo leaf extract was used for treating skin inflammation
EQUO International
A sustainable brand provides 100% natural, plastic-free, chemical-free, compostable in any environment within 90-180 days to replace everyday single-use plastic items
IMAGTOR
Provide high income employment opportunities in IT field for people with disabilities.
Launchmart
A design and on-demand manufacturing platform helping fashion entrepreneurs to build, launch and produce fashion digitally without hassle using editable 3D garment templates
LMCATION
To inspire and empower women of all shapes, sizes and color, every single day, by the collection of SLEEPwear, GYM-TO-SWIMwear & ACTIVEwear. Providing versatile, mix-and match separates, ethically-made by underprivileged female partners & offering hundreds of possible combinations.
Marie’s Work At Home
Maries Work At Home’ Idea is the useful reasonable solution while creating natural artistic handmade crafts, save the environment, and give rural women Stability & promote economic growth in traditional villages
Medifood
Save money on healthy food choice and help local farmers earn a better living.
Momby
Momby is a personal maternity assistant co-built and recommended by obstetricians, facilitating an enjoyable and hassle-free pregnancy and parenting experience through providing clinically researched, doctor-approved medical information on the topics of health and baby care. Other in-app service offerings include telehealth doctor consultations on demand, insurances, mental healthcare tools, spa and beauty, breathing exercises, doctor-recommended maternity and family products…
Multi Meter Machine
A multi meter machine is an innovative device that measures, analyzes, and communicates utilities-related data
OSLA
OSLA.io is an educational tech-enabled platform dedicated to helping Asian students studying overseas with qualified and trusted mentors
Planté
Planté is a startup project that provides urban residents with an intelligent platform for indoor gardening, including an AI powered mobile app and gardening starter kits.
Real Bean Coffee
At Real Bean Coffee, we desire to (1) accompany the farmers in the Central Highlands of Vietnam to create a specialty coffee material area in the direction of sustainable development, (2) bring to consumers the health, safety and high quality coffee products with authentic flavor, (3) elevate the value of Vietnamese coffee to become a supplier of high quality coffee exports.
RecyGlo
RecyGlo’s sustainability and waste data analytics dashboard helps businesses and organizations to reduce pollution by educating, recycling and recovering the value from waste.
Self Hiil
Self Hiil offers Vietnamese the fastest way to achieve both well-being and successful career by innovating online coaching program for life transitions.
TRUEBODY
True Body is a wellness coaching app that helps Vietnamese women to live healthy, look good and feel good in their body easily and sustainably, by providing personalised exercise, meal plan and mindset training, and also community challenges, specifically designed for Asian, hosted by Asian.
TUBUDD
Our travel platform connects the local Vietnamese people (local buddies) to the travelers. We provide the local buddies with more opportunities and help them monetize their skills and local knowledge. We also help the travelers find a suitable local buddy to have the best experience in Vietnam.
