MoMo Mia! Does this VN unicorn have the recipe for super-app success?

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Hello there,

I don’t remember the last time I withdrew cash from an ATM – all my transactions are done via digital wallets these days.

Since I live in one of India’s metropolitan cities, which are more mature markets for fintech, maybe it’s a privilege that I get to say this. That said, a closer look will show that the growth of digital transactions is now driven by Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in the country.

India’s fintech sector has become a crowded market, regularly tapping into billions of dollars from investors. But fintech adoption seems like a global phenomenon. Not too far away from India, Vietnam also has a burgeoning fintech space, which attracted over US$500 million in funding in 2021 alone.

One player is Vietnam’s latest unicorn, MoMo. With a user base of 31 million, the fintech firm can pin its early success down to its mobile-only approach.

But experts say that fintech companies cannot grow on digital wallet services alone, as the margins are too thin. That may be why MoMo is now trudging on a path toward its super-app dreams.

In this week’s Big Story, my colleague Huong dives into MoMo’s super-app ambitions. Can the company reinvent itself to survive intense competition in Vietnam?

Read on to know more.

— Samreen

THE BIG STORY
Analyzing MoMo’s super-app ambitions

Image credit: Timmy Loen

We dissect the challenges for the Vietnamese unicorn as it plows ahead in the country’s fintech battleground.

THE HOT TAKE
Green financing takes off in Indonesia