ThinkZone: A Homegrown Investor Growing with Vietnam’s Ecosystem

Growing with Vietnam’s Ecosystem

Over the last decade, Vietnam’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has evolved from a relatively nascent and fragmented landscape into a more structured and connected system. Support organizations have strengthened their capabilities, founders have gained access to wider networks, and local investors are playing a more visible role in building and financing companies.

ThinkZone’s journey reflects this transition. Beginning as an accelerator focused on early-stage founders, it has gradually developed into a prominent homegrown venture investor with a strong understanding of Vietnam’s market, institutions, and entrepreneurial talent.

Swiss EP has supported ThinkZone at different stages of this journey. Through six Swiss EP experts and ongoing support from the local team, ThinkZone further strengthened capabilities that contributed to its continued evolution.

A key milestone in ThinkZone’s evolution was the Fundraising Simulation, which gave founders hands-on experience across the full entrepreneurial financing journey, from angel investment and venture capital to private equity, M&A, IPO, and exit. Swiss EP supported the team’s initial trip to Switzerland, where they were introduced to the framework by Christian Rangen, Founder and CEO of Strategy Tools. Seeing its practical value for a market like Vietnam, where experience in building and scaling unicorns remains limited, ThinkZone decided to invest in the full program with partial support from Swiss EP. Nir Melamud, a Strategy Simulations Certified Expert from Strategy Tools, later trained the ThinkZone team and portfolio founders in Vietnam. ThinkZone subsequently acquired the implementation rights and adapted the program locally under the name Scale-Up Simulation, allowing founders to experience the key decisions involved in scaling a company from zero toward unicorn status.

According to ThinkZone, it remains the only organization in Asia using the framework. Besides ThinkZone Accelerator, Scale-up Simulation is now also used by SK Startup Fellowship and NIC’s Go Venture.

As ThinkZone evolved, the relationship with Swiss EP expanded toward investment knowledge, peer exchange, and international connections, including the Switzerland–Vietnam Economic Forum.

Reflecting on ThinkZone’s long-standing relationship with Swiss EP, Do Bui, Founding Partner and CEO of ThinkZone, said:

Swiss EP has never felt like an external partner to us. Over the years, they have become part of the ThinkZone family- people we trust, learn from, and can always turn to.

The Value of Homegrown Capital

ThinkZone’s transition from accelerator to investor was part of a broader development in Vietnam’s capital market, as domestic capital began to play a greater role and local VC regulations started to take shape. While international investors remain essential, particularly for companies seeking larger funding rounds and regional expansion, stronger Vietnamese investors bring a different form of value. They have proximity to founders, a deeper understanding of local regulations and customer behavior, and the ability to identify operational challenges that may not be visible through financial reporting alone.

The local VC’s investment philosophy is grounded in this advantage. The ThinkZone investment team works in the same way: rather than following investment trends, the team looks for companies with defensible strengths and founders with deep domain expertise. The fund also remains closely engaged with its portfolio, supporting fundraising, recruitment, partnerships and commercialization.

Since 2019, ThinkZone has launched four investment funds, including its USD 60 million Fund II. Its most recent fund, Global Minds Fund I, has a ticket size of USD 100,000–2 million per company. To date, ThinkZone has invested in 17 companies.

Operating within Vietnamese legal structures, ThinkZone has encountered practical challenges related to taxation, capital increases and investment procedures. After successfully overcoming these challenges, the team has translated these challenges into case studies. Together with Swiss EP and other ecosystem actors, the firm has started policy dialogue with the Ministry of Science and Technology, including discussions on Decree 38, a key legal framework for establishing local VC funds, as well as emerging national and local venture capital mechanisms.

One of the values of homegrown investors (besides providing capital) is bringing market evidence into conversations and improving the local investment environment and policies. This is one of the strongest signs of maturing entrepreneurial ecosystem.

EMDDI: The ThinkZone Approach in Practice

ThinkZone’s investment in EMDDI provides a practical illustration of this hands-on approach. EMDDI developed a mobility platform that helped traditional taxi operators digitize their operations and connect existing vehicle supply with wider customer and partner channels. Rather than competing with heavily funded ride-hailing platforms through large subsidies, EMDDI focused on aggregating traditional taxi fleets and expanding their reach through banking and mobility platforms. Do, founding Partner and CEO of ThinkZone, described this as “a resource-conscious underdog mindset”, using limited capital carefully and finding a smarter route to market instead of trying to outspend larger competitors.

Commenting on the complementary capabilities required to turn strong technology into a viable business, Dung Tri Tran, Program Manager at Swiss EP, observed:

Scientists advance the science, engineers build the technology, and business leaders bring it to market.

This principle was evident in EMDDI. While the company had strong technology, it faced gaps in fundraising, commercialization, and operational leadership. What distinguished the case was founder Tan Nguyen’s clarity about where he could contribute most, together with his trust in Do to lead the business side. ThinkZone therefore moved beyond the conventional investor role, with Do stepping in as CEO to lead fundraising and commercialization while the founder remained focused on science and technology.

ThinkZone also used its network to address operational challenges and support the company’s development. EMDDI was eventually acquired by a larger company from the mobility sector. ThinkZone completed a strategic exit through its acquisition.

Although only one case within ThinkZone’s wider portfolio, EMDDI demonstrates how trust, complementary capabilities and hands-on investor engagement can turn strong technology into a viable business and create a pathway to exit.

Responding to the Next Phase

As founder needs become more complex, investors and support organizations will need to move beyond standardized support roles and respond directly to the constraints facing each company. ThinkZone’s evolution, including its hands-on role in EMDDI, illustrates this shift from general ecosystem support toward the targeted capital, expertise, and operational capacity required for commercialization and scale.

This reflects Vietnam’s broader transition from ecosystem formation toward consolidation. Progress will depend less on adding more programs or actors than on strengthening how existing capabilities and networks work together. It also reflects Swiss EP’s long-term approach: building local capacity, opening international connections and enabling trusted ecosystem actors to increasingly lead from within.