Vietnamese fintech app for rural markets bags $1.5m in pre-series A funding

Fintech startup MFast announced that it has raised US$1.5 million in a pre-series A funding led by Do Ventures, a Vietnam-focused venture capital firm. Jafco Asia, subsidiary of Japanese private equity firm Jafco, also participated in this round.

MFast and DigiPay co-founders (from left): Phan Thanh Vinh (chief technology officer) and Phan Thanh Long (CEO) / Photo credit: MFast

Developed by fintech company DigiPay in 2018, MFast allows clients to distribute financial products, such as consumer loans, insurance, and phone recharge to other people, and get commissions from the transaction.

According to the co-founder and chief technology officer Phan Thanh Vinh, MFast will use the fresh funds to expand its coverage across more cities in Vietnam, invest in technology to enhance customer experience, broaden its partner network, and scale to regional emerging markets.

The Vietnam-based company says it has reached almost 600,000 users through its 350,000 agents. It has disbursed more than 5 trillion dong (around US$216.3 million) loans and distributed more than 50 billion dong (around US$2.1 million) worth of insurance products. Around 80% of its end users come from the country’s rural areas, MFast added.

The startup has also partnered with prominent financial institutions such as Mirae Asset, CIMB, Mcredit, and EasyCredit for consumer credit products. For insurance products, it has teamed up with PVI, PTI, and BSH.

Currency converted from Vietnamese dong to US dollar: US$1 = 23,083.33 dong