Fintech Challenge Vietnam has been organised by the SBV with the support of the Mekong Business Initiative and sponsorship by the Vietnam Bankers Association and the Vietnam Fintech Club.
Vietnam’s financial sector has grown substantially but financial institutions still find it challenging to provide financial services to underserved customer segments, including small businesses, rural populations and urban migrants.
The recent worldwide explosion of financial technology (fintech), including in Vietnam, promises to fill this gap.
The focus of the first-ever Fintech Challenge Vietnam is on fintech solutions that can help to improve the offer of financial services to the underserved and unbanked.
The programme is an opportunity for fintech companies, from both at home and abroad, who are interested in collaborating with commercial banks to pilot and scale solutions that improve financial services in such areas as electronic payments; electronic identification, block-chains and peer-to-peer lending.
The deadline for application is January 18, 2018, at fintech.mekongbiz.org.
Successful applicants will participate in a two-month long incubation and mentoring programme to fine-tune their business models, while also participating in a competitive session to present their solutions to a panel of banking industry players, financial experts and investors.
The best solutions will be given the opportunity to demo their products and services at the 2018 Vietnam Fintech Day.
SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh said that the central bank wants to create an enabling ecosystem for financial innovation that improves the access to financial services for Vietnam’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses and other underserved populations.
