Dutch Good Growth Fund – Financing Local SMEs (DGGF) is committed to understanding how its strategic objectives translate into practice. To advance this learning, our Monitoring & Evaluation team (M&E team) visited Hanoi to assess how goals like strengthening inclusive finance and fostering SME development materialise on the ground, assessing DGGF’s impact through its support to funds, SMEs, and the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem.
One of DGGF’s valued partners in Vietnam is Asia Business Builders (ABB). Since 2018, DGGF has invested in two of ABB’s funds -ABB I and ABB II- which both focus on SMEs underserved by traditional finance. ABB formed the focal point of the monitoring visit, as they offered an interesting learning case.
The insights of this visit structured around three interconnected perspectives that together illustrate how DGGF’s objectives take shape in Vietnam’s SME finance landscape:
- At the ecosystem level, we explored Vietnam’s entrepreneurial environment to identify structural opportunities and constraints that influence SME growth and access to finance.
- At the fund level, we reflect on how DGGF’s financial and non-financial support shape ABB’s operational capacity, and ability to strengthen its portfolio, while also identifying opportunities for deeper collaboration and learning.
- At the intermediary fund and SME level, we explored how ABB’s capital and advisory services drive business growth, professionalisation, and access to additional financing through in-depth conversations with portfolio companies.
Key takeaways from the visit
The experience with ABB illustrates that DGGF’s fund-of-funds model is effective in driving meaningful impact when strategic capital is combined with operational and governance support. ABB applies a hands-on approach to support SMEs in Vietnam, focusing on collaborative relationships. Beyond investing significant time in understanding each business’s operations, ABB supports professionalisation, enabling SMEs to transition from informal to more structured organisations. Also, investees benefit from ABB’s extensive network and deep market expertise, which opens doors to new growth opportunities. As Eva Krah of the evaluation team, noted, “ABB really makes an effort to understanding their potential investees - what drives these companies, how they work, and which chances exist. That learning process can last months and is ultimately reflected in the quality of ABB’s investment decisions.”
Image: © DGGF
Strengthening DGGF’s ongoing strategy
This on-site visit by our M&E team is part of our Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning efforts to review investee performance, identify Best Practices and find ways to strengthen DGGF’s operations. These Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning activities help us understand challenges faced by investees and local dynamics—such as Vietnam’s fast-changing business environment—and identify gaps for future support, including tailored training and network-building. By examining how fund strategies translate into SME results and ecosystem growth, we gather insights that shape DGGF’s approach and guide both fund managers and investees.
Image: © DGGF