KiotViet, a Vietnam-based merchant platform for MSMEs, has secured US$45 million in a Series B funding round led by global investment firm KKR.
Singapore’s Jungle Ventures, Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank, and Cao Viet My (Vietnamese enterprise specialising in industrial inkjet printers) also co-invested.
Tri Cao, deputy general director of Citigo, the parent company of KiotViet, told e27 that the company will use the new investment to enhance its products and services.
Besides, KiotViet intends to recruit international talent to support new businesses, including fintech, B2B e-commerce, and expand to global markets.
“The addition of this new capital will only enable them to provide more services to small businesses, who as a segment are a major contributor to GDP throughout Southeast Asia,” stated David Gowdey, managing partner at Jungle Ventures.
Launched in 2014 as a cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) system, KiotViet aims to accelerate the digital transformation of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which accounts for around 40 per cent of the Vietnamese economy.
KiotViet is riding on the tailwind of the country’s digital transformation push to assist traditional retailers in adopting online platforms, especially during the pandemic.
The firm claims it provides a full-suite software solution, including POS, inventory management, CRM, and employee management services for more than 110,000 MSME consumers. Last year, KiotViet had 1,000 employees across 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam and claimed 50 per cent market share.
“Our main barrier is the status quo. Many family-owned small business owners have been running their businesses using traditional book-keeping processes for decades. This is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process,” added Cao.
KiotViet has also expanded its offerings to include a B2B procurement marketplace and integrated logistics services for its merchants. The platform is also set to offer financial services such as payments and lending.
Also read: Our main barrier to growth is status quo in retail sector: KiotViet’s Deputy GM Tri Cao
In 2019, the startup raised US$6 million in Series A round from Jungle Ventures and Traveloka.
As reported in “E-commerce market value in Vietnam from 2014 to 2020”, e-commerce revenue in 2020 was estimated to be over US$11.8 billion, accounting for around 5.5 per cent of total retail sales of products and services in Vietnam.
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Image credit: KiotViet
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