An early investor of Facebook, LinkedIn, & Slack grants $510k to Vietnam’s Anfin
Global Founders Capital (GFC), First Check Ventures, and R2 Venture Partners have invested $510,000 in Anfin, a Vietnam-based stock trading platform for individual investors.
GFC is a billion-dollar fund based in Germany that was an early investment in famous digital businesses including Facebook, Rocket Internet, and Archer Aviation, as well as LinkedIn, Lazada, and Slack.
“GFC is always looking for outstanding founders globally to provide them with capital. Our current focus is on Vietnam and Southeast Asia that is home to a large pool of talent,” said Jay Lim, VC management partner at Global Founders Capital. “I believe they [Anfin] are active as a key player in improving financial literacy in Vietnam.”
We’ve reached out to Anfin for further information about the funds, and we’ll update this piece if we hear back.
Anfin is a stock investment app founded in June 2021 by CEO Phuoc Tran and CPO Michael Do that allows users to purchase and sell stocks with minimal money beginning at VND50,000 (about $2) and supports fractional share trading.
Anfin seeks to make financial investing easier for young Vietnamese people by providing a user-friendly, transparent, and highly secure platform.
The company also assists consumers in making decisions by giving investing information ranging from basic to complex, as well as delivering financial news in an easy-to-understand format.
“The complicated process, risk aversion, and large initial capital are common barriers that hinder Vietnamese people from investing in securities,” said Anfin CEO Phuoc Tran. “We strive to inspire and support Vietnamese people, especially the young, to help them confidently start investing to achieve their financial goals.”
When compared to the entire year of 2020, the total number of new domestic investor accounts established in Vietnam grew by 58% in the first half of 2021. According to investing firm VinaCapital, just 3% of Vietnam’s 100 million people have a stock brokerage account.
According to VinaCapital, the stock market has seen a tremendous increase in individuals entering it in 2021, while conventional investment alternatives such as real estate and gold have grown less popular.
The Vietnamese government hopes to raise the country’s stock brokerage penetration rate to 5% by 2025 and 10% by 2030.
Investment platforms are ready for an expansion in Southeast Asia, with Aijab becoming the industry’s next unicorn. Finhay and Infina are two well-known firms in Vietnam that have recently received investment.
