E-wallet MoMo was awarded the "ESG Award for Excellence 2021" in Singapore for the efforts of businesses operating towards environmental, social and governance criteria in addition to financial goals.
Standing for environment (Environment), society (Social) and governance (Governance), the ESG Award is the Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (SVCA)'s annual award given to venture capital investments, private equity investments, and honours the sustainable development values that investments bring.
Satisfying the criteria, MoMo Wallet, officially invested by the world's leading growth investment fund Warburg Pincus in 2019, has received the award, which recognises its efforts in the persistent journey of creating positive values for the community.
In 2007, the firm’s founders set it up to help every Vietnamese person have access to financial services at the lowest cost. With the aspiration of a cashless society, MoMo has become a super application with more than 28 million users, more than 30,000 reputable partners, promoting cashless payment in all daily activities of the company.
In 2021, under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, MoMo quickly and proactively coordinated to mobilise more than VND8 billion (US$347,800) for the Government's COVID-19 vaccine fund and tens of billions of dong for support programmes.
In the first nine months of 2021, through MoMo, philanthropists across the country have contributed more than VND38 billion to social activities, helped thousands of disadvantaged families, and directly supported more than 40,000 children to go to school, have nutritious meals, be equipped with knowledge of self-protection and avoid trespassing.
Nguyen Ba Diep, co-founder and vice president of MoMo, said: “We understand that sustainable development values not only bring benefits to stakeholders, but also ensure long-term development of the business itself. The ESG criteria help us have the right direction for our vision.”
Saurabh Agarwal, CEO of Warburg Pincus, commented: “Three years ago when we invested in MoMo, we worked closely together on a sustainable development strategy. Warburg Pincus is proud of MoMo's ongoing efforts to make meaningful Environmental, Social and Governance impacts. This award is a testament to Warburg Pincus' commitment to working with portfolio companies to build sustainable businesses over the long term." — VNS