Vietnamese fintech firm Mfast has successfully concluded its $6 million (about P340 million) Series A funding round to drive its regional expansion.
The round was led by Wavemaker Partners, Southeast Asia’s leading venture capital firm dedicated to investing in enterprise, deep tech, and sustainability startups. It is led by Filipinos Paul Santos, who serves as managing partner, and Eric Manlunas, as general partner.
The funding round also saw participation from new investors Finnoventure Fund I, managed by Krungsri Finnovate, and Headline Asia, along with all existing investors Do Ventures, JAFCO Asia, and Ascend Vietnam Ventures.
“In the midst of a global funding winter, we are grateful for our existing and new investors’ relentless support to achieve this funding milestone. Our next big steps include fostering collaboration to design exclusive financial products for each and every customer segment, as well as gearing up for expansion to the Philippines in 2024,” Long Phan, MFast CEO, said.
MFast is an agent banking aggregator platform that allows users in underserved communities to access financial services. In Vietnam alone, the platform has 160,000 active agents who serve a multitude of customers’ needs especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Once MFast expands to the Philippines, people who live in remote areas and lack financial literacy and credit history will gain better access to banking, insurance, and credit-related services. This will lessen the need for such individuals to acquire financing through black market credit sources.
Notably, the platform has witnessed remarkable growth, with a 62% increase in the number of earning users during the first half of 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022.
