Pioneering A New Twist On Coworking Models

Vietnamese fintech startup Finhay has raised a $25 million Series B round led by Singapore-based Openspace Ventures, an early backer of Indonesia’s GoTo Group and 30 Under 30 Asia honoree Rexy Josh Dorado’s Manila-based social media site Kumu, and private 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 used-car unicorn Carro, led a pre-Series A funding round for Bluesheets, a financial data startup in Singapore.

The funds will be used to invest in business expansion, talent acquisition and technology develop- ment. Finhay also bought a securities brokerage, 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 of almost 100 million people. It recommends multiple micro-financial products including saving, investment and insurance based on the customer’s personal information and risk assessment.

The customers can then start building their wealth through Finhay with as little as $3. Nghiem, who made the 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2020, envisions Finhay as a one-stop solution where customers can manage their wealth seamlessly.

“Finhay is already emerging as the clear frontrunner in Vietnam’s booming investment space,” Jessica Huang Pouleur, partner at Openspace, said in the statement. “We believe a massive opportunity exists in Vietnam, which has an enterprising population hungry for the chance to invest smartly.”

The Vietnamese economy has grown since 2012, posting 6% growth or higher every year through 2019 on the strength of export manufacturing and the spending power of its population. Growth fell to 2.9% in 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 enable them,” added Nghiem. “It’s such an important inflection point.”

Other rising 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 superapp operated by South Korean billionaire Lee Seung-gun’s Viva Republica.

Prism Partners

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