Touchstone Partners and ThinkZone Ventures invest $1.1 million Seed Funding in Social Commerce startup ON

Starting an online business has become top of mind for many people in Vietnam when they seek ways to earn money. But there are certain barriers to entry, such as an individual seller being unable to deal with suppliers for an attractive commission scheme, and not having the money to invest in inventory at the beginning. ON, a pioneer social commerce platform, makes it simpler for sellers by providing an end-to-end solution that handles orders, fulfillment, returns, shipping, and transactions, empowering everyone to become an entrepreneur. With ON, sellers simply use social media channels to market an item and earn a commission. The rest is handled by ON.

ON helps individuals to earn extra income by starting an online business easily and stress-free, without having to worry about inventory, management, or delivery. Its social commerce platform provides a full range of products and an end-to-end solution for sellers. All they have to do is to market the product to buyers. Once an order is placed, everything is handled by ON. 

ON was founded by Giang Nguyen, a former tech lead at FPT and a seasoned entrepreneur who previously built a community of over 1 million online sellers and shippers. With this experience, Giang realized the opportunity to better leverage this expansive network by serving Vietnam’s ever-expanding social commerce segment. Along with Dzung Luu, who previously led the operation at Be, one of the biggest ride-hailing platforms in Vietnam, and Minh Nguyen, former CFO of Logivan, Giang saw the potential of social commerce in tier 2-3 cities and rural areas. Approximately 92% of households in rural areas now have smartphones and access to the internet and 72% engage in online shopping on Facebook or other social media platforms. Digital penetration is strong in these regions, but technology innovations lag behind. This is a huge untapped market that ON intends to explore. 

Vietnamese consumers have been quickly moving to online commerce, a trend accelerated by the pandemic. A recent report from Facebook and Bain & Company said that the country would be the fastest-growing e-commerce in Southeast Asia by 2026, with an estimated gross merchandise value of US$56 billion, up from US$11.8 billion in 2020.  While these figures are impressive, at present e-commerce comprises just 5.5% of retail sales in Vietnam.

Since its official launch in March 2021, ON has attracted more than 10,000 sellers, of which 90% are women. The majority of sellers live in small cities or in rural areas. Each seller can earn up to US$300 each month by selling items with ON.

Giang Nguyen, Co-Founder & CEO, commented, “Social commerce is still in an early stage in Vietnam, but we believe that it is poised to gain enormous traction in the coming years. We want to build a sustainable business where sellers can actually sell and earn income with us, and therefore, one of the key areas to focus on is product quality. We also invest extensively in technology, to address challenges in sourcing products, streamlining operations, and delivery. Our vision is to become a single ecosystem that will empower every online seller in Vietnam. The fresh funding of this round will be spent on expanding our presence and developing solutions to further serve the needs of our sellers in terms of management, delivery, and capital so that they can scale the business with us.”  

“We’re pleased to welcome Touchstone Partners and ThinkZone Ventures as investors. They understand our vision and how we intend to realize it. They share our excitement for the growth potential this market holds. We’re confident that their capital, as well as their experience and networks, will help take ON to its next stage of development,” added Giang.