Philippines’ B2B Platform GrowSari Raises $45M From KKR

Business-to-business (B2B) platform GrowSari raised $45 million from global investment firm KKR in an extended, oversubscribed Series C funding round, according to a press release on Wednesday (Jan. 26).

The startup based in Manila, Philippines, launched in 2016 and is focused on helping sari-sari stores, or mom and pop shops, in the Philippines grow and digitize. The fresh infusion of capital will be used for expanding into more areas in the country and launching new financial products.

The Series C round is ongoing and is already oversubscribed, with the total funding being finalized. Prior to this round, GrowSari raised $30 million. GrowSari serves micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines.

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GrowSari is a tech-enabled platform that helps small physical retail stores, neighborhood shops (sari-sari stores), roadside, market eateries (carinderia) and pharmacies offer expanded services and products. GrowSari now has a presence in 220 municipalities across the regions of Luzon and offers services that include bill payments, telco reloads and wallet-top-ups, in addition to retail merchandise and pharmaceuticals.

Ashish Shastry, Co-Head of Asia Pacific Private Equity and Head of Southeast Asia at KKR, said that GrowSari has the capabilities to “digitally transform the operations of Filipino MSMEs, who are crucial contributors to the country’s economy and a pillar of the business community.”

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“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. This will bring us a step closer to our mission of creating a positive socio-economic impact to the lives of more MSME owners and the communities they serve,” said Reymund “ER” Rollan, CEO and co-founder of GrowSari.

“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. The industry, operational and financial expertise and network of KKR will be a great complement to the passion, dedication and strong culture of excellence that GrowSari has built over the years,” Rollan said.