Visa launches competition for Vietnamese fintech startups
Visa launches competition for Vietnamese fintech startups
Digital payment provider Visa launched the first competition for startups in Vietnam today, aiming to encourage innovations in the local fintech sector for the prize of $30,000.
Visa has launched the inaugural Visa’s Everywhere Initiative in Vietnam, asking Vietnamese startups to help the firm solve payments and commerce challenges, further enhance its own product propositions and provide innovative solutions for its partners.
“Vietnam is earning a reputation internationally for being a start-up hub, and when you’re here, it’s not hard to see why. The country’s rapid development in recent years has really helped to bring out Vietnam’s entrepreneurial spirit, while an affinity for technology has helped to create the perfect conditions for start-ups to emerge,” said Sean Preston, country manager for Visa in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
Preston added that the programme could help generate solutions for Vietnam’s fast-growing fintech system, and the financial sector as a whole.
Visa’s Everywhere Initiative has run in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, touching over 40 markets. In Vietnam, the programme is open for entries from May 24 to July 10, 2018.
To enter, Vietnamese start-ups must submit a solution for one of the following three questions: How might startups leverage social media platforms to create seamless financial/banking experience for the millennials segment? How might startups give consumers a digital pay-on-delivery solution that meets their needs far better than cash? And lastly, how might startups innovate to expand the acceptance of electronic payments and provide value-added services to merchants?
The finalists will pitch their idea to a panel of judges on August 23, competing for prizes worth VND700 million ($30,625). In addition to the main prize, Visa will work with the winners to execute their solutions in Vietnam and beyond, as well as offer mentorship and expert support.
Visa’s Everywhere Initiative was first launched in 2015 to harness the creativity and talent within the startup community worldwide. Since this time, the programme has seen participation from over 2,100 startups worldwide, who have collectively raised over $2 billion in funding.
