Vietnam launches social network as alterative to Facebook

A Facebook-style social network was launched in Vietnam on Tuesday, following calls by the government for domestic tech companies to create alternatives to US tech giants, Reuters said.

Gapo, a mobile app that lets users create personal profiles and share posts to a Facebook style “news feed,” has received $21.55 million in funding from tech corporation G-Group, according to its chief executive, Ha Trung Kien.

“Vietnamese users and enterprises are relying too much on Facebook as there are not so many social networks for them to choose from,” Kien said.

Gapo plans to reach 3 million users in 2019 and 20 million by January 2021.