Vietnamese software-as-a-service company, Citigo Software, has raised USD 6 million in Series A funding round from Jungle Ventures and Traveloka for its cloud-based point-of-sale/store management software, KiotViet, the firm said in an official statement.
Citigo developed KiotViet in 2014. It offers software solutions such as inventory management, cash flow, and marketing, and management solutions for more than 70,000 micro-businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in 63 Vietnamese provinces starting from VND 160,000 (USD 7) per month.
Since its inception, KiotViet has experienced a growth rate of 250% year-on-year, says the firm. KiotViet was named one of Vietnam’s 50 leading IT companies in 2018 by the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association.
Citigo said the funds will be used to expand KiotViet’s business network to all of Vietnam’s provinces and cities, especially to the remote areas where there is lower technological access.
It also seeks to enhance the capacity of its leadership team. This will be supported by Jungle Ventures who will provide advice on the hiring of key personnel.
Jungle Ventures will also be helping KiotViet to expand and solidify its position in Vietnam by providing advice on its business strategy as well as exploring other markets when the timing is right.
This investment is the first time Jungle Venture has invested in a Vietnamese startup. The Singapore-based early-stage venture capital firm is likely to have invested in KiotViet through its third fund.
Jungle Ventures raised USD 175 million in the first close for its third fund in April this year. When it announced its first close, it said it had already done five deals out of the fund with one of them being an investment in Vietnam.
According to Crunchbase, Jungle Ventures has made 61 investments in total and had four exits, most notably the Indian startup Zipdial, which was acquired by Twitter.
The other lead investor in this round is Traveloka, an Indonesian online travel aggregator. Through its investment arm, the unicorn has invested in Indonesia-based insurtech PasarPolis’ Series A round as well as the series B round of Singapore’s event management tech startup PouchNATION. As part of the deal with KiotViet, the AVP of Traveloka investment will join KiotViet’s board of directors.
