On the launching ceremony of FinTech Lab, took place on January 24, 2019, the event received much attention with the participation of representatives of State Bank of Vietnam, Vietnam Banking Association, NGOs, funds, and investors such as Dragon Capital, BIDV, ...
Over the formative years of these strategic partnerships, Vietnam Fintech Club and VIISA have gained experience and traction in their strategy to include open innovation in partnerships with startups. Both partners expressed their desire to develop their participation in accelerators to focus on working with Fintech startups that are better positioned to pilot and quickly scale cooperation. Selected out of dozens of applications, the heavily customized programme shortlisted 3 startups to join its inaugural batch.
This joint effort will extend the reach for each organization - VIISA and Vietnam Fintech Club, enabling participating startups access to executives and networks from two leaders.
“We’re seeing an exciting dynamic where more global fintech startups are looking for opportunities to enter or expand in Asia, especially in Vietnam. In the past 1-2 years, Vietnamese banks have looked at seriously cooperating with Fintech startups. Seeing Fintech startups as partners instead of competitors has become a clear trend in the Vietnam banking industry today.”, shared Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dat, CEO of TheBank.vn - one of the three Fintech companies joined the programme.
The six-month program provides participating startups: (i) a seed investment, (ii) an undisclosed amount of services such as co-working space, Amazon Web Services, HubSpot, Google Cloud, Mapbox, Zendesk… (iii) mentorship from Vietnam Fintech Club networks, such as Momo, Standard Chartered Bank, Dragon Capital, VFM, BIDV... and (iv) joining the Investment Day to pitch with the investors network of VIISA. Additionally, startups will leverage Fintech Sandbox’s tailored enterprise-readiness program, as well as Fintech Sandbox’s data and resources.
FinTech Lab 2019 includes three startups:
- Growth Wealth: A customer-centric peer-to-peer lending platform for SMEs in Vietnam to obtain direct financing from individual and institutional investors. We are 100% committed to serving our customers with the smartest financing solutions and world-class services.
- bePOS: Partner of Success from running your daily operations to better engage with your customers, managing your staff and even growing your market share. bePOS is the next generation of Point of Sale that enables you to do all these in the most exciting way.
- The Bank: TheBank has officially operated since 2014 and is the first online financial advisory website in Vietnam. TheBank compares products such as credit cards, loans, savings and insurance to provide free financial advice to consumers. In addition, TheBank connects customers with thousands of experts, consultants of banks and insurance companies across the country.
Presenting at FinTech Lab - Launch Party, Mr Huy Nguyen - Founder of Growth Wealth shared: “I’ve come across the peer-to-peer lending business model during my time working at Accenture Consulting in Singapore and I’ve seen this as an ideal solution to provide an additional option for unbanked small businesses to access funds. Nonetheless, it’s challenging to realize the idea and we need a trusted partner, who is willing to join forces with us on this journey. That’s what we have found when joining FinTech Lab. With the collaboration and support from Vietnam FinTech Club and VIISA, we trust these are the prerequisites for the success of this venture. Growth Wealth aims to contribute to the growth and sustainability of Vietnam’s financial market.
“In Vietnam, there exists a large unbanked and under-banked population, people often don’t use banking services, but rather prefer going through cash-based channels for retail needs. This means a large percent of Vietnam’s population is unbanked, creating a huge window for fintech companies to jump in and compete with traditional banking. Founded by VIISA and Vietnam FinTech Club, FinTech Lab is poised to leverage Vietnamese’s vibrant fintech ecosystem and leading regulatory landscape, as well as the incredible pool of talent as it looks to develop the city as a smart financial center. We look forward to supporting fintech startups in Vietnam to catch up with this wave.”, shared Mr. Tran Huu Duc, CEO of VIISA and Deputy Vice Chairman of Vietnam FinTech Club.
FinTech Lab accepts applications on a rolling basis. Fintech startup can continuously apply at https://www.vietfintech.vn/fintech-lab-apply-now/. Startups in Fintech Lab are expected to graduate marked by the Investment Day, presenting more than 100 investors, mentors, corporate partners from over the globe!
2019 FinTech Lab Cohort:
About VIISA:
Launched in January 2017 by FPT Ventures and Dragon Capital, VIISA is an accelerator program and seed-stage fund that seeks to invest $6 million to build global-ready startups in Vietnam. After four batches, VIISA has graduated 25 startups with some highlighted successes such as WeFit, UrBox, WisePass, CyHome,... which have created more than 350 jobs and raised a total committed $5 million from other investors.
About Vietnam Fintech Club
A professional working group of Fintech companies, founders, mentors and investors. Vietnam Fintech Lab aims to promote Fintech sector by providing meaningful discussions, business ideas, veteran opinions, and connection with regulators and investors.