KiotViet, a merchant platform for micro firms, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on Thursday announced it has raised $45 million in its series B funding round from global private equity powerhouse KKR.

With such investment, KKR has become the biggest investor in the Vietnamese startup, which was established in 2014 as a cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) system developed by Citigo Software.

Before KKR, KiotViet has received investment from such investors as Jungle Ventures, Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank, and Cao Viet My.

KiotViet provides omnichannel business and management software solutions in the fields of POS, inventory, customer relationship, and staff management for more than 110,000 micro businesses and SMEs in Vietnam.

The startup has been improving its products and services to help customers connect with suppliers and third-party carriers.

KiotViet also plans to leverage its platform to provide financial service solutions such as payment and lending.

Ashish Shastry, co-head of Asia Pacific Private Equity and head of KKR in Southeast Asia, said KKR is excited to invest in KiotViet, an innovative business with “terrific growth potential.”

“The investment in KiotViet marks our sixth in Vietnam and is the first made through KKR’s growth technology strategy in Southeast Asia,” Shastry said.

This milestone reflects KKR’s commitment to providing long-term capital and other necessary supports for high-growth technology companies, including those at an earlier stage, Shastry commented.  

Tran Nguyen Hao, founder and CEO of KiotViet, emphasized that SMEs play an important role in the local economy and are the driving force behind Vietnam’s development in the future.

Through KiotViet's technological solutions, VietKiot looks forward to supporting Vietnamese businesses in their digitalization processes so that they can improve operational efficiency and bring into full play their potential.

The CEO also said that he welcomes KKR as the investor of KiotViet and expressed his confidence that KKR’s “extensive experience, strong global network, and deep industry expertise” will strongly support KiotViet’s growth in the future.

KKR, listed on the U.S.’s New York Stock Exchange, is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, credit, and real assets, and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds.

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