In 2017, Coin98 Finance was established from a community channel, at this time aiming at decentralized financial activities. In just a short time, the Coin98 product has become a "super wallet" in the Blockchain field not only in Vietnam but also globally. Now determined to become a purely technology company to easily support Vietnamese startups to reach the world, the founders decided to change the company's name to Ninety Eight (98).
According to Mr. Le Thanh, co-founder of 98, he and CEO Nguyen The Vinh started from zero, with their constant efforts and grasp of technology, they have created the success of 98 today, a Blockchain technology company operating globally with more than 8 million users in 170 countries around the world. Now, he and his colleagues want to pass on their successful experience to the next generation of companies.
“On the road to success, we have gained a lot of experience, there are things we see that we are not doing right, or what we are currently doing about Blockchain has really caught up with countries like the US. With the knowledge, thinking and relationships gained, 98 wants to pass them on to the next generation, to create technology startups in Vietnam and serve the whole world. Because only then can we succeed and create many companies similar to us,” Mr. Le Thanh shared.
The founder of 98 Company believes that Blockchain is one of the rare industries in Southeast Asia - a region with a large, young population and high Internet coverage - that is developing close to the rest of the world. This creates an advantage for industries that can take advantage of the Internet and mobile devices. This is the first time that Asia has the opportunity to lead a new trend, unlike before when it usually started in Europe and the US, then spread to the rest of the world.
From a startup perspective, Blockchain has been globalized from the beginning, making it easier for technology startups to access the capital market. In the traditional market in the region, Vietnam does not have many projects that call for hundreds of millions of USD in investment, but this can easily be seen in Blockchain. From that source of capital, Blockchain companies can expand infrastructure and the labor market. This is an indirect way to contribute to the country's GDP.
Realizing that, after becoming a successful startup, 98 began to support technology startups in Vietnam. In July 2023, the company launched the Vietnam Future Fund. This is a fund for technology startups to develop supporting technologies in the Blockchain field and share the same orientation of "Vietnamese people building products, exporting to the world". Currently, this initial fund has selected 2 startups to fund.
On November 1, with the official name Ninety Eight, the company also announced a $25 million fund for Blockchain startups in Vietnam. The fund's goal is to promote Blockchain startup culture in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Mr. Le Thanh shared that the 98 journey is about being born, growing up and developing products, so the company understands very well the development of startups with products for millions of users. However, not everyone is lucky enough to overcome such difficulties, so after having the conditions, the company wants to support young talents in the region to be able to develop Blockchain businesses.
When launching the fund, 98 did not set a target for how many companies it would invest in. Instead, the goal was to provide enough support for startups to prepare for development, while also helping them raise capital from other funds.
Talking about the difficulties in this new technology field, Mr. Le Thanh said that it is a human problem. According to him, the current skill level of Vietnamese people has not met the requirements of businesses with the orientation of reaching out globally. The previous generations have professional experience but do not have English to convey messages abroad, and the opposite is true for young people. Another thing is that the cost of human resources in Vietnam is not cheap for qualified workers. This group's salary has caught up with or is higher than that of countries in the region, while this is the necessary human resource for Blockchain companies.
“The advantage of Blockchain is that it helps our products to easily reach the world, but the challenge is that we have to compete with businesses in Silicon Valley, like the Vietnamese football team playing against the Korean team. The problem of cultivating people takes a lot of time,” Mr. Le Thanh emphasized.
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