Gimo secures seed funding
Hanoi: Gimo, a fintech startup, today announced that it has secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding from VC firm ThinkZone Ventures, BK Fund (an investment fund of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology), and other strategic angel investors.
The details of the round remain undisclosed.
Gimo intends to use the funding for product enhancement and to introduce a new payroll feature on its platform.
The two-year-old company provides transparency and convenience of payroll services to local workers without a bank account.
The way it works is that Gimo users can request income payment in advance and track earnings through the mobile app that is integrated into their companies’ human resource management and payroll systems.
The Hanoi-headquartered startup aspires to tap into millions of workers who don’t have a bank account or have limited access to financial services, helping them to alleviate their financial stress and build financial security, thus driving financial inclusion in Vietnam and the region.
According to the World Bank’s Global Findex Database 2017, nearly two-thirds of Vietnam’s adult population do not own a bank account. Often, they must rely on costly financial services such as long-term, high-ticket-size bank loans or high-interest-rate loans to take care of their cash flow emergencies.
“As one of the Earned Wage Access (EWA) pioneers in Vietnam, Gimo hopes to fill in the market gap by addressing unmet financial needs of dozens of millions of workers out there and, at the same time, increasing their job security, financial wellness, and loyalty,” said Nguyen Anh Quan, Gimo co-founder.
“It is a win-win game for both employees and employers. Well-rounded staff benefits help reduce turnover rates and HR-related costs, such as recruitment and training costs. Happy workers create successful companies!” he added.
To support the growing cashless ecosystem, Vietnamese government institutions are also proposing several tax incentives for businesses adopting e-payments.
