Nguyen Ba Diep

Co-founder and Senior Vice-President of MOMO

"One thing I still remember was when I went to the supermarket in Australia and saw the sign saying that credit cards were accepted. I found that fascinating. I also saw that cashless payments were becoming more popular in other countries.

When I returned to Vietnam from Australia, my team deployed mobile telecommunications and internet services and that has brought about significant changes in our lives.”

On Australia-Vietnam relations, Nguyen Ba Diep immediately thinks of “peace” and “prosperity”. His business story is a prime example of these two words.

As one of the people behind the largest online movie ticketing application in Vietnam, the largest film reviewer community platform in Vietnam, and the largest online charity platform in Vietnam, Nguyen Ba Diep never forgets the goal he has had since the early days of his startup Momo: apply technology to help Vietnamese people access financial services in a simple, efficient and cost-effective way.

Diep is the co-founder and current Vice President of the e-wallet Momo. He holds a Master’s degree from Curtin University, Australia and an engineering degree from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. His time studying in Australia offered insightful lessons and observations which helped shape many of his entrepreneurial perspectives in Vietnam.

One of the things that he pondered when in Australia was what makes the country as strong as it is. He concluded that is was about harnessing the power of technology and industry, in combination with a compassionate lifestyle with others in society. During his studies in Australia, he himself received tremendous help from the Australian people, whose kindness and generosity left a strong impression on him. “I carried that spirit when I returned to Vietnam. In short, just help others with whatever you can,” he says.

When Momo was established (2007), Diep still remembers that the percentage of Vietnamese people with bank accounts then was less than 5%, which meant the potential for financial inclusion among the population was immense. That was the opportunity that Momo harnessed, deciding to develop and deploy an e-payment ecosystem. From the initial goal of one million users, today Momo occupies more than 60% of the e-wallet market share in Vietnam with more than 30 million users. The number of employees has also increased from around 100 to just over 2,000. Thanks to the solid infrastructure built early, Momo was able to meet the rapidly increased demands for e-wallets in a short time when large-scale social distancing measures were put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Diep thinks of the word “peace” when considering the Australia - Vietnam relations? He said that when he arrived in Australia, he experienced the joy, peace and prosperity of the country.

“If we can maintain peace and achieve prosperity, I think it would be wonderful for all of our children. If Vietnam can prosper, just among the top countries in Southeast Asia, that would be good enough,” Diep says.