Vietnamese Fintech startup raises $ 25 million in Series B round from Openspace, Vietnam Investments Group
Finhay founder Huy Nghiem.
Vietnamese fintech startup Finhay has raised a $ 25 million Series B round led by Singapore-based Openspace Ventures, a former supporter of Indonesia’s GoTo Group and 30 Under 30 Asian-honored Rexy Josh Dorado’s Manila-based social media site Kumu, and private equity firm Vietnam Investments Group.
Other investors in the round included Singapore-based Insignia Ventures Partners, TVS, Headline, TNB Aura and IVC, Finhay said in a statement. Earlier this month, Insignia, whose other investments include GoTo and Singapore-based Unicorn Carro, led a pre-Series A funding round for Bluesheets, a financial data launch in Singapore.
The funds will be used to invest in business expansion, talent acquisition and technology development. Finhay also bought a securities brokerage house, making it the only licensed digital investment platform in Vietnam, according to the startup.
Finhay was founded in 2017 by Huy Nghiem, a Vietnamese-Australian who quit his finance job in Australia. The startup operates a micro-investment platform for Millennials and has more than 2.7 million registered users in the country with almost 100 million people. It recommends several microfinance products, including savings, investment and insurance based on the customer’s personal information and risk assessment. Customers can then start building their fortune through Finhay for as little as $ 3. Nghiem, which topped the 30 Under 30 Asia in 2020, envisions Finhay as a one-stop solution where customers can manage their assets seamlessly.
Courtesy of Finhay
“Finhay is already emerging as the clear frontrunner in Vietnam’s booming investment area,” said Jessica Huang Pouleur, partner at Openspace, in the statement. “We think there is a huge opportunity in Vietnam, which has an enterprising population that is hungry for the opportunity to invest. Smart.”
The Vietnamese economy has grown since 2012, with a growth of 6% or higher each year through 2019 due to the export production and purchasing power of the population. Growth fell to 2.9% in the pandemic year 2020 and 2.6% last year.
“A large number of people are now looking for ways to start investing – often for the first time, and we are exploring different ways to activate them,” Nghiem added. “It’s such an important inflection point.”
Other growing fintech platforms in Vietnam include MoMo, which has raised money from the likes of Goldman Sachs, Warburg Pincus and Vietnam Investments Group, and Toss, the fintech super-app run by South Korean billionaire Lee Seung-guns Viva Republica.
