The Post’s staff reporter Hin Pisei browses online supermarket platform Delishop.Asia on Tuesday. HEAN RANGSEY
Phnom Penh-based venture capital firm Obor Capital Co Ltd announced an early-stage equity fundraising deal with online supermarket platform Delishop.Asia to transform the Kingdom’s online shopping experience, it said on Tuesday.
Obor Capital’s investment includes an injection of fresh capital and the acquisition of Delishop.Asia’s secondary shares.
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Delishop.Asia prides itself for being the leading Cambodian online supermarket, providing and delivering more than 8,000 products from more than 40 suppliers – including groceries, food and beverages, cosmetics and other consumer goods, it said.
Obor Capital chairman Christophe Forsinetti said the funds will be utilised to develop a more user-centric and scalable web portal, as well as Android and iOS apps, which are scheduled to be launched by the end of the year.
“We believe the sector has strong potential and is ripe for disruption. We are very excited to be on board and will work closely with Delishop.Asia’s team to build synergies with our existing projects and scale the business aggressively over the coming period,” he said.
Obor Capital’s sister company, CamboTicket has also acquired a minority stake in the business. As part of the deal, Obor Capital and CamboTicket will provide strategic support to Delishop.Asia in key functional areas.
Mobile payments in the Kingdom via Pi Pay alone hit 7.5 million transactions – amounting to $170 million – as of March since the service was unveiled in mid-2017, its CEO Tomas Pokorny said in March.
Obor Capital chairman Christophe Forsinetti. Supplied
Speaking about the partnership, Delishop.Asia founder and CEO Julien Nguyen said: “The funds will be used to strengthen our team, offer more top quality products and improve user experience.
“Obor Capital’s hands-on approach towards its investments is what we are looking for in an investor at this stage of our company’s lifecycle.”
Cambodia’s digital economy remains at a nascent stage and will need at least 10 years to grow and aim for a technology-driven economy, Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth said in March.
On October 8, the National Assembly approved the Kingdom’s draft law on e-commerce aiming to regulate the sector as well as boost confidence domestically and internationally.
The draft will actively contribute to the development of the digital economy in Cambodia and embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution, its statement said.
