The Mekong Enterprise Fund was launched in 2002 at $18.5 million in committed capital and was fully invested in 10 companies by the end of 2005. The Fund was the first growth capital private equity fund focused on Vietnam.

The Mekong Enterprise Fund invested in unlisted companies in the Vietnamese private sector, with significant exposure to manufacturing and export related industries. Companies invested by the Fund were typically owned and managed by first-generation Vietnamese entrepreneurs. Starting with Mekong Enterprise Fund II, the Mekong Enterprise Fund series shifted its investment focus to more value-added consumer driven industries - especially retailing, distribution and consumer products - managed by new-generation management teams.

The Fund pursued smaller sized companies, acquiring significant minority stakes and enabling the Fund to cooperate closely with its investees. Value-addition programs applied by the investment team during the Fund’s life focused on the implementation of operational performance enhancement projects (such as six sigma or lean manufacturing systems), financial management, human resource recruiting and corporate governance advisory.

Pioneering Vietnamese growth capital investing, the Mekong Enterprise Fund generated valuable lessons-learnt for its successor funds, and the Vietnamese investment community in general. A continuously enhanced investment program, including industry-leading pipeline selection criteria and a systematically refined post-investment value creation program (please refer to the Vision Driven Investing section) have been under implementation since Mekong Enterprise Fund II.

To learn more about the Fund's existing investments, please visit our Investments page.

Status of the Fund

The Fund launch on 22 April 2002. The Fund has fully divested from 8 companies in its portfolio and is focused on realizing the remaining holdings based on detailed action plans. Exits have been and continue to be mostly strategic trade sale transactions.

To learn more about the Fund's exited investments, please visit our Exits page.