Vietnam fintech firm MFast grabs $6 mln in Series A funding round

Ho Chi Minh City-based fintech firm MFast said Tuesday it has raised $6 million in a Series A funding round which was led by Wavemaker Partners.

The round was also joined by new investors Finnoventure Fund I, managed by Krungsri Innovate and Headline Asia, alongside returning backers Do Ventures, JAFCO Asia and Ascend Vietnam Ventures.

With the latest funding round, MFast has so far raised $10 million in the six years since its launch, including a $1.5 million pre-Series A round in June 2021.

Founded by twin brothers Phan Thanh Long and Phan Thanh Vinh in 2017, MFast has a presence in all 63 localities in the country. It has built a network of more than 160,000 agents serving more than one million users so far, according to its website.

MFast says it would use the fresh funding to broaden its operations in Vietnam; and has plans to expand its operations outside the country, starting with the Philippines, by next year.

The fintech startup currently has partnerships with financial institutions like Singaporean bank UOB, KBank – Thailand's second-biggest lender, and Vietnamese lenders like VPBank, Saigon-Hanoi Bank and TPBank.

MFast reported a 62% increase in earning users during the first half 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year.

“With its strong agent base and initial focus on financial products, MFast has achieved impressive results. Wavemaker is proud to strengthen our partnership with the company and support it as it enters its next phase of growth,” Tran Hoang Phuong, Wavemaker Partners’ Vietnam principal, said in an MFast release.

Sam Tanskul, managing director of Krungsri Finnovate, which manages Finnoventure Fund I, said: “By bridging the gap and extending financial access, we not only empower individuals but also contribute to sustainable economic growth, creating a win-win scenario for customers and the broader economy.”

Wavemaker is a multi-faceted cross border venture capital firm founded in 2003. It firm is dual-headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore and has raised over $600 million, its website says. It says it has invested in over 400 companies as an early-stage investor in the last 18 years.