Vietnamese earned wage access (EWA) startup GIMO has announced the completion of a Series A funding round raising a total of $17.1 million.
The funding, which comprised a mix of equity and debt financing, comes five months after GIMO secured $5.1 million in the first close.
The round was led by TNB Aura, with participation from existing backers Integra Partners, Resolution Ventures, Blauwpark Partners, ThinkZone Ventures, and Y Combinator, among others.
New investors who joined this round include Genting Ventures, TKG Taekwang, George Kent and Asia-focused private credit financier AlteriQ Global, the company said in a statement on Monday.
GIMO will leverage the funding to forge strategic alliances with key partners and industry leaders, it said. These partnerships will foster collaboration, create synergies, and launch new social impact initiatives.
“We look forward to working closely with the GIMO team in breaking down barriers to financial inclusion for millions of blue-collar workers across Vietnam. Especially in challenging macroeconomic times such as these, GIMO’s mission to empower workers to ‘Live Better. Work Happier’ is even more critical,” said Charles Wong, founding partner of TNB Aura.
GIMO will add TNB Aura co-founder and managing partner Charles Wong and Integra Partners partner Jennifer Ho to its board of directors
“We believe that the Vietnam market is ripe for the adoption of earned wage access, which will drive financial inclusion and stability for the underserved. At AlteriQ, we consistently strive to forge partnerships with top-tier business operators across industries and geographies,” said Zhi Yong Heng, Managing Partner of AlteriQ Global.
This investment in GIMO marks AlteriQ Global’s debut investment in Vietnam.
GIMO had earlier raised $1.9 million in a seed+ round led by Integra Partners in 2021.
Officially rolled out in early 2021, GIMO allows employees to access their earned salary almost instantly via a mobile app integrated with the company’s payroll system.
GIMO currently serves 500,000 workers from medium- to large-sized multi-national manufacturing companies across Vietnam. The company is on track to reach 2.5 million underbanked employees by 2025.
GIMO joins other startups in the region that are tapping into the EWA trend including Indonesia’s wagely and GajiGesa. In Vietnam, Nano Technologies raised $6.4 million in an oversubscribed pre-Series A round led by Singapore-based venture capital firm Openspace last year.
Other startups that have mushroomed over the last few years include Malaysia’s HariGaji and Paywatch as well as Singapore’s Circopay and GetPaid.