Founded in 2019 under the original name EI Industrial, Halana has quickly established itself as the leading B2B e-commerce platform serving the manufacturing and construction sectors—two key pillars of Vietnam’s economy.
Halana’s technological concept stemmed from real-world challenges posed by fragmentation, inefficiency, and lack of transparency in the supply chain for materials, equipment, and industrial components. Traditionally, procurement in the manufacturing sector relied heavily on direct relationships between businesses and suppliers, involving too many intermediaries, limited data for decision-making, and difficulties in cost control. Recognizing this gap, Halana developed a specialized B2B platform for industrial sectors, enabling businesses to easily search, compare, purchase, and manage orders across categories such as maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) supplies, machinery and equipment, components, construction materials, and replacement parts.
Unlike general B2B platforms or consumer-oriented marketplaces like Shopee or Lazada, Halana has built a deep, standardized product database tailored to industrial needs—from technical specifications and units of measurement to internal operational workflows, including procurement processes aligned with engineering, accounting, and post-audit departments. Their solution goes beyond a buying-and-selling platform by integrating a procurement management software that allows businesses to fully digitize the entire workflow—from request initiation and approval to reconciliation and reporting. This marks a significant leap beyond simple commerce, evolving into a comprehensive platform that supports end-to-end digitalization of inbound supply chains.
At the end of 2021, the startup secured a $670,000 investment from two international venture capital funds—Cocoon Capital and BEENEXT—both of which have a proven track record of backing digital platforms in Southeast Asia. This capital injection enabled Halana to scale rapidly. In just the first three months of 2022, they doubled their number of business customers to over 1,000 and expanded their presence to 43 industrial zones nationwide—demonstrating both the feasibility and strong real-world applicability of their product.
What distinctly sets Halana apart from traditional suppliers is its ability to make data-driven decisions, optimize operations, and reduce both transaction time and costs for buyers and sellers alike. Compared to major ERP solutions such as SAP or Oracle—which are often expensive and unsuitable for small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses—Halana’s platform offers a lightweight, flexible, and market-fit solution tailored to the unique needs of Vietnamese enterprises.
A key lesson from Halana’s development journey is the importance of focusing on a specific niche with a problem large enough to solve. Rather than attempting to serve all types of businesses with every kind of product, they chose to concentrate on MRO and the industrial sector—areas characterized by high repeat purchasing, specialized products, and complex procurement processes. This clear strategy has helped them develop their product in the right direction while also earning investor confidence in their long-term growth potential.
Additionally, Halana’s commitment to building a deep tech platform—not merely a “marketplace”—has proven to be a crucial factor. At a time when many B2B e-commerce platforms struggle due to undifferentiated models and limited added value, Halana has demonstrated that a combination of technology, industry expertise, and a deep understanding of business behavior can result in a product strong enough to transform the operational habits of an entire sector.
With their initial achievements and a well-structured business model, Halana stands as proof that tech startups can truly make a meaningful impact in traditional industries—provided they identify the right problems, build solutions aligned with market needs, and remain adaptable throughout execution.
