STOREHUB.COM/PH

SOUTHEAST Asian technology firm StoreHub, which helps restaurants and retailers automate, has raised $13.5 million in new funding, a company official announced on Wednesday.

The amount will be used to improve StoreHub’s operations in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries, it said in an e-mailed statement.

Venture capital firm 500 Global led the pre-Series B funding round, with participation from existing investors Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, OSK, and others.

“In the post-Covid rush to reopen, businesses have had to make new changes to adapt to the new normal. In line with this, the Philippines and the region have had to accelerate the adoption of digital technologies to meet the demands of the time,” StoreHub Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Wai Hong Fong said.

“With ‘revenge travel’ and ‘revenge dining,’ retail and F&B business owners are looking for ways to improve operational efficiency and maximize their revenue per customer.”

StoreHub started as a cloud-based point-of-sale system in Southeast Asia in 2013.

In the Philippines, StoreHub is one of the point-of-sale system providers accredited by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

“Today, the platform powers over 15,000 paying retail and restaurant outlets in Southeast Asia and has expanded its offering to include QR-based table ordering, loyalty, automated customer engagement, and more,” the company said.

StoreHub noted that it processed over 128 million transactions worth over $1.6 billion in the past 12 months, a 40% rise from the prior year.

“The latest funding round will be used to continue fueling healthy growth and technology innovation to deepen the value of each customer,” the company said. — Arjay L. Balinbin