KVision x VIISA Hackathon 2019 rewards creative disruptive solutions

The judging panel (from the left): Nghiem Thanh Son, senior deputy director general of Payment Systems Department, State Bank of Vietnam; Duong Nguyen, partner, EY Vietnam; Nguyen Hoa Binh, chairman, NextTech; Chat Luangarpa, first senior vice president, KBank and director, KVision; and Duc Tran, CEO, VIISA

The grand winners took home $7,000 in cash and top contestants won a total of over $70,000 in other prizes and perks.

Over an adrenaline-fuelled three days, 20 teams co-built innovative solutions centred on fintech and consumer lifestyle to tackle challenges in the Vietnamese and ASEAN markets.

Seasoned mentors from the likes of Akamai, MoMo, and Sendo, as well as business executives from the Kasikorn Group, namely KBank, Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG), and Beacon Venture Capital were available around the clock, sat down with startups to guide them hands-on through their formulation journey.

The event culminated with a pitch in front of reputable judges, including the State Bank of Vietnam, KVision, and NextTech. Winners were selected based on the creativity, user experience, value creation, and scalability of their solutions.

Chat Luangarpa, first senior vice president of KBank, said, “Hackathons bring a great atmosphere. There was a sense of creating something together, to bring something new and different to the market. And in the end, it’s not just about winning the hackathon, but about finding a real solution to create real value and spur growth in the wider ecosystem.”

Working together toward real solutions was the key theme of KVision’s Hackathon. Duc Tran, CEO of VIISA, said, " We designed the programme to combine all the right tools and the right partners to make real creation possible so that startups don’t just walk away with ideas but real foundation for them to grow their business."

Chat added, “We are very impressed by the creativity of the solutions that these startups brought to the table. They have all demonstrated extremely innovative thinking, and we look forward to seeing how these ideas can transform our industry going forward.”

Hackathon winners awarded with prize money from the programme

KVision sees immense potential in Vietnamese startups to grow not only at home but in the region. KBank first entered Vietnam in 2015 with representative offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Currently, KBank plans to upgrade its Ho Chi Minh City representative office to its first branch in Vietnam once the license is granted.

Alongside setting up branches, KBank also looks to bring in digital solutions, including partnerships with startups to address financial service gaps and drive disruption in the region.