
A strong middle class is a critical foundation for a country’s economic and political stability (see Chris Freund’s article: link). Mekong Capital is committed to Vietnam developing a robust and stable middle class.
Since our first fund in 2001, through ongoing growth, our investees help support local economies, foster local employment and economic participation through creating a net increase of nearly 73,000 jobs during our holding period and , which may positively contribute to SDG #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Some examples include Mobile World: over 36,000 jobs created; Pharmacity: nearly 4,000 jobs created; F88: nearly 4,000 jobs created, etc.
Other than that, many of our 11 investee companies that were listed on Vietnam’s stock exchange developed ESOP programs to share the value creation with senior and in some cases middle level managers. MobileWorld is a particularly exceptional case in which upwards of 1,000 employees generated substantial wealth via the ESOP program while we were shareholders and actively supporting a generous ESOP program.