Halal Angels Network is among the first to to support the Vietnamese government in Startups in Halal consumer market, by offering Islamic finance to aspiring entrepreneurs. It has teamed up Vietnam Halal Centre to host the Halal & Ethical Investment Summit post COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. This would be part of series of Halal & Ethical Investment Summits to be held at global locations to promote Halal & Ethical Investment & startups.
Vietnam’s emergence as a startup hub received a boost at the recent Vietnam Ventures Summit 2020, where investors signaled their intent to invest US$815 million in startups. The agreement covers 33 foreign and domestic investment funds including CyberAgent Capital, 500 Startups, AlphaJWC, Monk’s Hill Ventures, and Access Ventures. Last year, investment commitments totaled US$415 million. The US$400 million increase in investments in 2020 reflects a belief that Vietnam could rival Indonesia as Southeast Asia’s growth market for tech investments.
Vietnam Halal Centre was established in 2018 by Halal Industry veteran Tee Ramlan, former VP of Halal Development Corporation. Ramlan was the first Halal expert to spot an opportunity in the Vietnamese market and has been actively educating, promoting halal business opportunities in Vietnam,
The angel network is adopting new, innovative technology to digitize the way they present, distribute and manage Halal-based deals. In doing so, angel investors will benefit from greater access to deal flow which can be profiled based on their interests, risk appetite and current portfolio.
Ramlan Osman, founder at the Halal Centre in Vietnam, said more than 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide only consume halal-certified products with annual consumption demand reaching $2.8 trillion. Most of them live in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries in the Middle East. Since only a few of these countries produce halal products, the market potential is huge. Entering the markets would improve Vietnam’s ability to sell products and open up greater export opportunities for local firms.
