Financial service app MFast announced that it has raised US$2.5 million in a funding round led by Ascend Vietnam Ventures with participation from Wavemaker Partners and existing investors Do Ventures & JAFCO Asia.

With the fresh funding, MFast is actively hiring talent across various areas including technology, marketing, and sales to upgrade its platform, expand its agent network, and deploy new business models.

MFast was born after its founders, Phan Thanh Long and Phan Thanh Vinh, observed a huge problem in Viet Nam’s rural areas. Nearly 70 per cent of the Vietnamese population in rural areas have limited access to banking, insurance, and credit-related services.

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.

“With a nationwide agent network, MFast reaches underserved populations, helping them overcome challenges in accessing financial services and breaking down prejudice towards insurance - a crucial aspect of a developed society. At the same time, we create benefits for our agents and partners. MFast provides agents opportunities to earn extra income while helping partners expand the insurance and financial services in the peripheral and rural areas,” said Phan Thanh Long, CEO and Co-Founder of MFast.

MFast digitises the entire working process, replacing cumbersome paperwork and procedures associated with banking.

MFast has partnered with several reputable financial institutions, including FE Credit, Home Credit, Mirae Assets, SHB Finance, CIMB, MCredit, EasyCredit, PTF, and VIB. As for the insurance category, MFast has established partnerships with BSH, VNI, PTI, PVI, Opes, and VASS.

After just two years, MFast has helped nearly 600,000 people (nearly 80 per cent of whom are living in rural areas) access financial and insurance services. MFast has also increased the income for more than 92,000 agents across 63 provinces in Viet Nam.

Thao Nguyen, senior investment manager at Ascend Vietnam Ventures, said: “Agent banking networks are a long-proven approach to expanding access to financial services to rural and suburban people across the global south. MFast’s proven execution on a tech-first foundation enables scale nationwide – and potentially beyond. We’re looking forward to helping MFast achieve their full vision.”

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. This new technology will increase automation when evaluating, appraising, and approving financial products for consumers. MFast also plans to expand to other Southeast Asian countries. — VNS