Kilo, a Vietnamese B2B e-commerce platform that links wholesalers with MSMEs, has acquired $5 million in pre-Series A funding.
According to Techcrunch, the round is co-led by California-based Altos Ventures and Australian VC company January Capital. Goodwater Capital, Ascend Vietnam Ventures, Decisive Capital Management, Ratio Ventures, and other angel investors were among those that took part.
Kilo plans to utilise the additional funding to expand its workforce and introduce new capabilities for MSMEs, such as finance, logistics, and self-service e-commerce site-building.
Kilo, a one-stop store helping local SME’s digitisation with purchasing and administration solutions, was founded in 2020 by e-commerce veteran Narayan Kartick. It allows them to save money and take on fewer risks by increasing inventory turnover, offering a wider range of items, and utilising transparent pricing.
Kilo also helps store owners sell their products on several platforms, including Kilo’s app, Facebook, and Zalo, a Vietnamese instant messaging service with 62 million users.
Kartick was formerly the CBO at e-commerce behemoth Tiki, which is planning an IPO in the United States, and the former vice president of Seoul-based Coupang, which also debuted on the NYSE in March.
Since its introduction in October 2020, Kilo claims to have increased the net merchandise value by 320 times. The firm, according to its website, taps into a US $180 billion retail consumption industry in Vietnam, with small shops accounting for 80% of the market.
The e-commerce market in the area is poised for an explosion, with TIKI in Vietnam and GoTo in Indonesia pursuing IPOs after securing large transactions earlier this month.
Telio, a B2B e-commerce platform based in Vietnam, raised $22.5 million in a pre-Series B investment headed by VNG Corporation last week. Society Pass was also the first Vietnamese firm to successfully execute a regular IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.
