Vietnam's Mekong invests $10m in real estate portal

Mekong is investing via its fourth flagship middle-market fund, which closed earlier this year at $246 million, more than twice the size of its predecessor. It typically takes significant minority stakes of 40-45%, although there is some scope for selective buyout activity.

Rever was one of the first real estate companies in Vietnam with a significant online and technology component when it set up in 2016. It claims to differentiate itself by leveraging an automated system to verify listings, thereby ensuring that what customers see online is truly available for purchase. There are currently 50,000 verified listings on the platform.

The company has seen its number of transactions per year grow from 200 in 2017 to 2,000 in 2020. During this period, the staff grew from 80 to 300 employees.

The goal is to become a one-stop-shop for accommodation-related services by adding tools and services such as loan brokerage, digital furniture fitting, and smart home devices. The company hopes to have a footprint across 20 cities with 200 locations and 20,000 agents by 2025.

“What really attracted me to Rever is its amazing co-founders and leadership team, who are authentically committed to a big vision of transforming the real estate market in Vietnam,” Sjoerd Zwinkels, a principal at Mekong who led the investment, said in a statement.

“This is strongly connected to my personal purpose to impact millions of lives in Vietnam and uplift Vietnam by fulfilling the visions of founders.”

Mekong has made 40 investments since 2001, 27 of which have been fully existed. Recent activity by Fund IV includes an investment of undisclosed size in HSV Group, Vietnam’s largest cosmetics retailer, and a $10 million commitment to electrical appliances maker Mutosi Group.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Real estate
• Expansion
• Vietnam
• Mekong Capital
• Growth capital