A half of 16 finalists list in the first-ever Fintech Challenge Vietnam (FCV) which was officially revealed at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) – Viet Nam Resident Mission has come from Vietnam.
The Fintech Challenge Vietnam (FCV) is organized by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the Mekong Business Initiative, the program is funded by the Government of Australia and the ADB.
In addition, the Viet Nam Bankers Association (VNBA) and the Viet Nam Fintech Club (VFC) are co-organizers of the program. Program Partners include seven commercial banks (BIDV, Vietcombank, VietinBank, Shinhan Bank, TP Bank, VIB, VP Bank) as well as FPT, Vietnam Silicon Valley, and VIISA.
The program aims to spur innovation in financial services that promote greater financial inclusion in Viet Nam, focusing on five fintech “verticals” that are critical for financial inclusion, including e-Payments, e-KYC, Peer-to-peer Lending, Open APIs, and Blockchain.
By the application closing date of January 31, 2018, FCV received 141 fintech applications, including 45 from Viet Nam and 97 from 27 countries in five different continents. The program successfully attracted applications in all five “verticals.”
Applications have been systematically evaluated and scored by program organizers, co-organizers and partners. Corporate and investor partners assessed each applicant based on commercial criteria (Innovation and Relevance; Management Capacity; and Scalability & Investment Readiness) while the State Bank of Vietnam, ADB, VNBA evaluated the potential impact on financial inclusion of each fintech solution.
The following 16 FCV Finalists represent the fintech applicants with highest overall scores as agreed by all the evaluators (in alphabetical order):
Additional information about the FCV program and the Finalists can be found at fintech.mekongbiz.org.
Successful FCV applicants will present their business models in the “Showcase Pitch Day” scheduled for 28 March 2018 at the CMC Innovation Center. After this initial Pitch Day, Finalists will be matched with FCV Partners who will serve as their mentors. Finalists will participate in a six-week incubation and mentoring program that will help them to refine and sharpen their business models to fit with local market context.
In a final competitive “Finalists Pitch Session,” all of the FCV Finalists will present their financial technology solutions to a panel of banking industry players, financial experts, and potential fintech investors. Cash prizes will be awarded to the best overall fintech, and to other vertical category winners.
The best solutions will have the opportunity to demo their products and services the day before the 2018 Vietnam National Fintech Day, tentatively scheduled for 28 May 2018.
By Nga Vu, The Leader