MoMo closes Series D financing round

HÀ NỘI — MoMo, Việt Nam's biggest e-wallet firm, has finished its Series D financing round from leading global investors, announced the firm in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

Without announcing the value of the deal, the firm revealed that together with existing shareholders Warburg Pincus, Affirma Capital, and Tybourne Capital Management, new investors in the round included Goodwater Capital, Kora Management and Macquarie Capital, adding the round was co-led by Goodwater, a Silicon Valley fund and Warburg Pincus. 

MoMo’s Executive Vice Chairman and Co-CEO Nguyễn Mạnh Tường told Việt Nam News: “We did the round without any physical contact due to the pandemic. It is like never before, however, we still succeeded in getting new investors.”

“We are grateful and honoured to have the prestigious lineup of global investors to join this round of financing.

"The investment not only demonstrates the investors’ recognition of our achievements but also their belief in our vision which will provide all citizens in Việt Nam with access to the best and affordable mobile payment services.

"The fund and the resources of our investors will help accelerate our growth and better position to capture the tremendous market opportunities in Việt Nam,” he added.

The new funding will be used to establish a new super app platform, enhance MoMo’s ecosystem which serves millions of merchants and users, and launch MoMo Innovation Ventures, an initiative to invest in Vietnamese companies with the potential to be integrated into MoMo’s ecosystem.

Currently, the firm has  一 二0,000 MoMo accepted points and  三0,000 business partners. With direct connections with  二 八 of the largest local and international banks in Việt Nam, the company covers more than  九0 per cent of the country’s banked population. 

Tường said despite the challenging market conditions in  二0 二0, MoMo delivered outstanding results with its registered user base nearly doubling to reach  二 三 million users and its transaction volume growing by  三. 五 times to hit US$ 一 四 billion.

Eric Kim, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Goodwater Capital, said Goodwater partnered with MoMo because it trusted the firm’s leadership in bringing forth convenient and accessible financial services to the Vietnamese consumers.

“There has never been a better time for Goodwater to invest in Việt Nam," Kim said.

As MoMo’s largest shareholder, Warburg Pincus appreciated MoMo’s progress in the 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 in digital payments in Việt Nam and we believe this is only just the beginning for the platform."

Attending the announcement, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Trần Duy Đông expected MoMo to become the third unicorn of the country, saying the ministry will continue to give the best support to start-ups like MoMo.

MoMo's leaders hope to reach  五0 million users in the next two years. — VNS