KKR leads Philippines startup GrowSari's Series C round, invests US$45m

GROWSARI has snagged US$45 million from private equity firm KKR, as it leads an ongoing Series C round.

The startup provides a tech business-to-business platform for small physical retail stores in the Philippines, known as sari-sari stores, as well as other micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSME). The platform is aimed at helping storeowners to digitalise operations from procurement to payment.

"GrowSari is aligned with one of our core technology investment themes in South-east Asia, which is supporting MSMEs with software and financial services," said Louis Casey, KKR's growth technology lead in South-east Asia.

Now present in 220 municipalities across the island archipelago, GrowSari claims it has seen a 6.5 times increase in gross merchandise value and 2.5 times increase in revenue since 2019.

The funds will be utilised to fund expansion into more regions in the Philippines and enhance its financial services capabilities.

"We will be accelerating our presence nationally to more municipalities and cities in the Philippines. Our investments will be focused towards expanding in Visayas and Mindanao this 2022," said Reymund Rollan, chief executive officer and co-founder of GrowSari.

The startup claims that the current Series C round is oversubscribed, with new and existing investors interested in joining the round.

"In addition, we are doubling down on our capabilities to improve the overall customer experience and look to expand our ability to provide sari-sari stores access to credit and basic financial services, which is a key pain point for MSMEs who have limited access," said Rollan.