Representatives of the Government and leaders of MoMo attend the announcement of the firm's Series D financing round in Hanoi (Photo: VNA) Without announcing the value of the deal, the firm revealed that together withexisting shareholders Warburg Pincus, Affirma Capital, and Tybourne CapitalManagement, new investors in the round included Goodwater Capital, KoraManagement and Macquarie Capital, adding the round was co-ledby Goodwater, a Silicon Valley fund and Warburg Pincus.
MoMo’s Executive Vice Chairman and Co-CEO Nguyen Manh Tuongsaid: “We did the round without any physical contact due to the pandemic. It islike never before, however, we still succeeded in getting new investors.”
“We are grateful and honoured to have the prestigious lineup of globalinvestors to join this round of financing.
"The investment not only demonstrates the investors’ recognition of ourachievements but also their belief in our vision which will provide allcitizens in Vietnam with access to the best and affordable mobile paymentservices.
"The fund and the resources of our investors will help accelerate ourgrowth and better position to capture the tremendous market opportunities in Vietnam,”he added.
The new funding will be used to establish a new super app platform, enhanceMoMo’s ecosystem which serves millions of merchants and users, and launch MoMoInnovation Ventures, an initiative to invest in Vietnamese companies with thepotential to be integrated into MoMo’s ecosystem.
Currently, the firm has 120,000 MoMo accepted points and 30,000business partners. With direct connections with 28 of the largest local andinternational banks in Vietnam, the company covers more than 90 percent of thecountry’s banked population.
Tuong said despite the challenging market conditions in 2020, MoMo deliveredoutstanding results with its registered user base nearly doubling to reach 23million users and its transaction volume growing by 3.5 times to hit 14 billionUSD.
Eric Kim, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Goodwater Capital,said Goodwater partnered with MoMo because it trusted the firm’sleadership in bringing forth convenient and accessible financial services tothe Vietnamese consumers.
“There has never been a better time for Goodwater to invest in Vietnam," Kimsaid.
As MoMo’s largest shareholder, Warburg Pincus appreciated MoMo’s progress inthe past few years since its initial investment.
Jeffrey Perlman, Managing Director, Head of Southeast Asia of Warburg Pincus,said: "Momo has solidified itself as the clear market leader indigital payments in Vietnam and we believe this is only just the beginning forthe platform."
Attending the announcement, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran DuyDong expected MoMo to become the third unicorn of the country, saying theministry will continue to give the best support to start-ups like MoMo.
MoMo's leaders hope to reach 50 million users in the next two years./.
VNA
