Vietnamese social commerce startup Mio bags US$8m in Series A round led by Jungle Ventures

VIETNAMESE social commerce platform Mio has raised US$8 million in Series A funding led by venture capital company Jungle Ventures, the startup announced on Tuesday (Jan 18) .

This brings Mio's total capital since inception to US$9.1 million, the press statement by Singapore-based Jungle Ventures added.

The Series A round included participation from venture capital firm Patamar Capital and angel investor Oliver Jung.

Existing investors, such as venture capital businesses Golden Gate Ventures, Venturra, Hustle Fund and iSEED SEA; and American delivery platform DoorDash executive Gokul Rajaram, also contributed to the recent round.

Mio, a group buying platform for groceries and fresh produce, will use the funds to expand its fulfilment centre footprint and improve its logistics and supply chain capabilities.

It also continues to drive financial independence for women in Vietnam by offering entrepreneurship opportunities through its Mio Partner model, a commission-based system that enables women to resell groceries and fresh produce, and aggregate, place and manage orders through the Mio phone application.

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Trung Huynh, co-founder of Mio, said the company has created "thousands of jobs for women in suburban districts and lower tier cities in Vietnam".

"As we scale, we are excited to partner with Jungle Ventures, Patamar Capital and our angel investors to continue to drive financial independence among more women in Vietnam, expand our services to more markets and serve our consumers with better products and services," he added.

Mio currently focuses on grocery staples such as fresh produce and poultry and is located in cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai, fulfilling 10,000 orders daily. It aims to add fast-moving consumer goods and household appliances soon, as well as expand to the northern regions of Vietnam.

Of the investment into Mio, My Tran, vice-president (investments) of Jungle Ventures, said social commerce will be the "next driver of growth for Tier 2 and 3 towns in the region".

Social commerce is racing ahead of traditional commerce models, as "consumers demand at par choice, experience and service". "Mio is an innovative business with terrific growth potential addressing the US$508 billion grocery opportunity in Vietnam," she added.

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