KiotViet, a store management software developed by local startup Citigo, has secured $6 million in series A financing from Singapore-based venture capital firm Jungle Ventures and Jakarta-headquartered airline and hotel booking services provider Traveloka.
Proceeds from the round will be used to expand its point-of-sales business in Vietnam, particularly in remote areas, as well as diversify its business models to better meet the need of the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector here, according to KiotViet.
The round of funding marks the first time that Jungle Ventures has invested in a Vietnamese startup. Jungle Ventures will back KiotViet’s expansion by advising on its business strategy and the hiring of key personnel. Elsa Chandra, assistant vice president of investment at Traveloka, and Grace Yun Xia, principal at Jungle Ventures, will be joining KiotViet’ board as per the agreement.
KiotViet has over 70,000 active customers, who pay a fee of VND160,000 ($6.95) a month, across the nation since its launch in 2014. Services offered include inventory management, cash flow management and marketing.
According to Cao Trong Kim Tri, deputy CEO of Citigo, while SME currently account for 95 per cent of all businesses in Vietnam and have been constantly contributed to the local economic development, they have more or less been struggling on the digitisation of their operational processes. “Our aim is to provide such companies with innovative and intuitive digital solutions to help them digitalise, increase efficiency and tap into new opportunities”.
“With even the traditional retail sector adopting more digital transactions, we see that KiotViet’s products and services – which provide comprehensive offline and online enterprise solutions – will be a definite game changer. The company is therefore well-positioned to help Vietnam’s smaller merchants close their digital gaps and enable more sustainable growth in the years ahead,” said Xia of Jungle Ventures.
“As a leading travel and lifestyle technology platform in South-east Asia, we are excited to partner with KiotViet in its journey to empower digital solutions for thousands of SMEs in Vietnam,” commented Chandra of Traveloka.
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