E-COMMERCE platform GrowSari said on Monday that it had raised over $30 million so far this year for funding in two rounds of capital raising efforts.
Series A investors include Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., JG Digital Equity Ventures, and Wavemaker Partners LLC.
Meanwhile, Singapore-based investment company Pavilion Capital Fund Holdings Pte. Ltd. and growth fund Saison Capital Pte. Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. in China, and International Finance Corp. make up the list of Series B investors.
“With the fresh funds, we aim to more than double GrowSari’s existing coverage and service more than 300,000 sari-sari stores, including those in Visayas and Mindanao,” GrowSari Co-Founder Reymund Rollan said in a statement on Monday.
“This will also help us broaden our supplier marketplace with new third-party partners and scale our financial service pilots,” he added.
GrowSari is a mobile app connecting sari-sari stores, or neighborhood mom-and-pop shops, to products of FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) brands at distributor prices. Products by Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Alaska, and Nestle are included in GrowSari’s offerings. It also has flexible payment options.
Meanwhile, orders from the app will be delivered straight to each store without additional costs and minimum order requirements.
The app also gives them access to become online shopping ordering hubs in their communities, as well as giving them access to payment services.
GrowSari also has microfinancing support and assistance options, and e-services in telco and remittance.
“GrowSari aims to empower and significantly increase the earnings of sari-sari stores in the Philippines by providing direct access to a wide assortment of affordable products, e-businesses, and financial assistance,” Mr. Rollan said.
Founded in 2016, the mobile app aims to tap the local stores’ potential to be the biggest and most accessible distribution channel in the Philippines.
“Through GrowSari, we want to use proprietary technology to accelerate financial health for Filipino sari-sari store owners, helping them to use, protect, and grow their business in the long run and transforming sari-sari stores into comprehensive service hubs for the Philippines’ grassroots communities,” Siddhartha Kongara, chief technology officer of GrowSari, said.
As of end-2020, the app had a user base of 50,000 stores in over 100 municipalities across the Luzon island. The company aims to expand to 200 cities and serve over 300,000 sari-sari stores, including those in the Visayas and Mindanao. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
