Financial service platform MFast announced Monday that it successfully landed a $2.5 million fresh capital in a funding round led by Ascend Vietnam Ventures with participation from Wavemaker Partners and existing investors Do Ventures and JAFCO Asia.
This new capital will be used to develop technology and data analysis systems that can generate consumer credit ratings, expand MFast’s agent network, and experiment with new business models.
Nearly 70% of the Vietnamese population in rural areas have limited access to banking, insurance, and credit-related services. Due to the lack of financial literacy and credit history, this group faces numerous challenges accessing financial services and is often the victim of predatory services from the gray and black markets.
In September 2020, MFast was launched to tackle this pain point by connecting reputable financial and insurance institutions to its nationwide agent network. MFast’s agents introduce, educate, and distribute financial products to the end customers in rural areas.
Anybody is eligible to become an MFast agent. Based on their ability, they can participate in one or several sales stages, such as customer acquisition, financial product consultation, customer onboarding support, or post-sales services.
By using the MFast app, agents are equipped with all the necessary knowledge and tools to do their jobs. It also digitizes the entire working process, replacing cumbersome paperwork and procedures associated with banking. As a result, MFast shortens the approval and disbursement window, bringing the best experience to both customers and agents.
Despite being new to a competitive landscape, MFast has already made impressive achievements and received various awards. After just two years, MFast has helped nearly 600,000 people (nearly 80% of whom are living in rural areas) access financial and insurance services. The startup has also increased the income for more than 92,000 agents across 63 provinces in Vietnam.
Thanks to its positive contribution, MFast was awarded the Top 10 Vietnam Information Technology Enterprises - BPO 2021, the Ho Chi Minh City Quality Product - Service 2021 title, and the Sao Khue Award 2022.
With bigger plans for the future, Phan Thanh Vinh, MFast’s co-founder and chief technology officer shared the company's intention to seek more talents for its upcoming projects: “To achieve our growth objectives, we are actively hiring across technology, sales & marketing, and human resources.”
“Taking long-term personal growth as a key management principle, we invest heavily in technical training and soft skill development programs for our people. Moreover, we always strive to create a ‘home in office’ environment for the team.”