Zalo Hits 2 Million Users and Plans for 5 Million Soon [INFOGRAPHIC]

I’ve been doing a lot of chat app news in Vietnam lately – the reason is mobile is in a very important growth stage and a lot of foreign and domestic companies want to get in. Just to refresh your memory, let’s go over the latest numbers that I’ve announced so far: KakaoTalk and Line both have one million users in Vietnam, first-mover Viber has 3.5 millions users, WeChat is functionally out of the game, and Whatsapp is unknown.

Now Zalo, the homegrown contender, has hit two million users. It’s a huge coup for VNG and one of the fastest growing periods for a domestic mobile app in Vietnam. According to Vuong Quang Khai, who manages web and mobile at VNG:

Two million users is an important milestone for Zalo. Of course, the mobile internet in Vietnam is just starting and the opportunities are still fresh for mobile services. Our next goal is five million users, which would account for 50 percent of the smartphone market.

Zalo’s breakneck pace can be strongly attributed local support and more significantly, advertising. This has allowed chat apps like Zalo to puncture the market and access smartphone users that may not even be accustomed to using apps on their phones. In many ways, VNG is doing the hard work of educating the smartphone market, a market where many smartphone owners buy smartphones for the novelty more than for the apps and services.

The interesting thing you’ll find in the infographic is Zalo is also getting users abroad, this in part can be attributed to the large population of overseas Vietnamese and, strangely enough, Vietnamese wives of Korean husbands. The app will come out with an English version in the next few months, which will position Zalo in a more global setting. The app is also now in a closed beta testing a calling function.

For more insights on Zalo’s growth, check out the infographic, which has some interesting insights into mobile growth in Vietnam.