Merry Year Social Company (MYSC), a South Korea-based accelerator and impact investor, today announced the opening of a desk office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 

Through the office, MYSC will invest in local Vietnamese startups that realize social and environmental value while growing revenue, expand its blended finance investments, and run the Vietnam Impact Investor Network. 

Starting with the opening of the desk office, MYSC plans to actively engage in blended finance impact investments that combine public and private capital. Starting with an investment of more than KRW 400 million in 2023, it plans to add strategic collaborations with local startups and large conglomerates such as AmorePacific to revitalize the sustainable growth of local startups in Vietnam. 

Since 2014, MYSC has been fostering Korean startups that want to expand into Vietnam. Since 2019, it has been directly supporting local startups in Vietnam and has made direct investments in Imagitor (Hanoi) and Journey of the Senses (Ho Chi Minh City).  In 2022, MYSC, together with KOICA, selected 18 local startup teams through the Impact Chapter Vietnam program, providing training and consulting support. The top five teams from the 18 participated in a demo day last month to share their final pitches. The winning team, WeShare, which operates an integrated donation platform, received $62,000 in prize money. 

The 18 startups included Green Joy, Nguyên Khôi farm, Carota, WeShare, Healthcare Now, Larva Yum, Zapi, Plastic People, Viet Trang Handicraft, FUWA Biotech, Cleanup, SÁNG GROUP, ODA, TUBUDD, Evergreen Social Venture, Phenikaa Maas, Manast, and MUSA PACTA. WeShare, Green Connect, ODA TUBUDD, and Phenikaa Maas are the five best teams.

“The opening of MYSC’s desk office in Vietnam is a major milestone in our impact investment journey in Vietnam, which we plan to continue in earnest, including fostering local accelerators, investing in local funds, and hiring local Vietnamese employees,” said Kim Jung-tae, CEO of MYSC. “The key is not the perspective of Korean impact investors entering Vietnam, but the perspective of Korean impact investors participating in the growth of Vietnam’s impact investment ecosystem.”