Nano, a Vietnamese Earned Wage Access (EWA) provider, has raised $6.4M in an oversubscribed pre-Series A round led by Openspace.
New investors include Partech Partners, Tekton Ventures, KVision, IT Farma, and Sketchnote Partners, as well as existing backers Golden Gate Ventures, FEBE Ventures, FJLabs, Venturra, TO Ventures, ACE & Company, and Goodwater Capital also joined.
What does Nano solve?
Million of workers in Vietnam live paycheck-to-paycheck and struggle with cash flow constraints at the end of each month. Consequently, they are forced to resort to predatory financial products, like loan sharks and payday loans, which charge annualised interest rates between 300% to 500%.
Nano was founded by Thang Nguyen and Dzung Dang in 2020 with a mission to plug the payday gap and empower low-income workers to take control of their financial lives.
“As Vietnam transforms into the global manufacturing hub, we are committed to supporting pioneer employers who put their people first and help ensure all employees are empowered, and no one is left behind. We are building a positive route for low and mid-income employees, giving them control over how they earn, how they get paid, and how they actively plan for the future they deserve.”, said Dzung Dang, CEO, and Co-Founder of Nano.
Help access wages instantly
Based out of Hanoi, Nano’s solution – Vui App, allows workers to access their wages instantly when needed.
On the other, it provides employers with a new cost-effective, flexible benefits platform, which will keep their employees engaged and happy, giving them an edge in attracting prospective employees with a more differentiated offer. Applying software and workflow automation remove employers’ administrative, technical and financial burdens.
As per the company’s claims, over 100,000 workers from leading corporations such as FPT Retail, Central Retail, GS25, Family Mart, Kangaroo, and Truong Thanh Furniture are already being granted access to their earnings through Vui App.
“With Vui App, we listen to employees better to provide the right benefit at the right time. It opens a new way of building the staff experience to keep our workforce engaged and happy. Vui App also connects all data from several HR systems in our corporation, driving the data standardization and transparency,” said Mr Hieu Nguyen, CEO of Truong Thanh Furniture (a partner of Natuzzi), which has implemented Vui App since 2021.
An employee uses Vui App 3.8 times a month to access earned wages. Going forward, Nano will hone in on large manufacturing enterprises, focusing on garment, shoes, electronics, and wood manufacturing.
“Nano is already emerging as the leader in the EWA space in Vietnam, and we recognise the immense potential that exists in the country, as workers and employers both struggle with their own challenges. Those workers need more flexible access to their earnings in volatile financial times, and employers need an edge in attracting a shortfall of talent. Nano’s recent developments have paved the way for continued growth as well as given it permission to stretch into new platform services. We have strong conviction in the future of the Vietnamese start-up ecosystem, and are excited to partner with Dzung and the impassioned Nano team as they take a significant step forward”, said Jessica Pouleur, Partner at Openspace.
