Growsari co-founder Shiv Choudhury
Growsari, a B2B marketplace for sari-sari stores (neighbourhood stores) in the Philippines, has closed a US$5 million investment round from global investor Oppenheimer Generations Asia.
The e-commerce startup will use the capital to support its three business lines and provide liquidity to employees and early-stage investors.
Also Read: How soonicorn GrowSari plans to expand its reach to 300K sari-sari stores in Philippines
The Philippines has 1.3 million independent entrepreneurs who run small mom-and-pop stores that play an active role in their community’s lives and choices. However, inefficient supply chains and the inability to access capital have often hindered their scaling.
Growsari seeks to even the playing field by democratising access to technology for these storeowners and empowering them to double their earnings.
Launched in 2016 by ER Rollan, Shiv Choudhury, Andrzej Ogonowski, and Siddhartha Kongara, Growsari provides growth tools to 100,000 sari-sari stores in 400 municipalities nationwide. Its three business lines are B2B e-commerce (SariMart), MSME financial services (SariPay), and last-mile logistics (Tranko).
It provides store owners access to affordable FMCG goods at convenient service levels. Goods are delivered to the stores for free, with no minimum order quantity, and flexible payment options of cash on delivery, digital payments or credit.
The platform also allows store owners to grow their business further by selling digital services (prepaid telco load, bill payment assistance, e-wallet top-ups, insurance, online shopping, etc.) to their end consumers via the same Growsari app.
Store owners can also access various business management solutions, including credit, payments, cash management, and insurance.
The company claims its revenue has grown 2x since its US$77.5 million Series C funding round in 2022 and is now close to profitability.
Also Read: GrowSari raises Series B to help 30K small convenience stores in PH increase their earnings
To date, Growsari has raised more than US$110 million across multiple rounds from Robinsons Retail, JG Summit, KKR, International Finance Corporation, Wavemaker Partners, Pavilion Capital, Tencent Holdings, Saison Capital, ICCP-SBI, and Endeavor Catalyst.
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Image Credit: Growsari.
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