Krungsri Finnovate, the venture capital arm of Thailand’s Krungsri Bank, announced that it has invested into the extended Series A round for Choco CRM, a Thai startup that provides customer relationship management (CRM) and point of sales (POS) for businesses.
Prior to this, Krungsri Finnovate has invested in four other startups. This investment will mark its fifth direct investment in startups, following funding for blockchain and online payment unicorn Omise, fintech startup Finnomena, proptech startup Baania and AI-based banking system developer Silot.
Choco provides small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with marketing solutions to retain customers by offering personalized rewards and promotions. It offers CRM and POS services for businesses, who can connect with the end-users through a physical card, mobile phone number, and a mobile application.
This investment would help to strengthen Choco CRM by opening up their access to financial services and for them to make use of Krungsri’s QR code payment channel. In exchange, Krungsri plans to offer the services of Choco CRM’s users in its credit card point redemption program.
“The goal of this investment is to strengthen SME operators by means of delivering superior financial services and; to facilitate them to achieve business management efficiency and to have access to enhanced financial services, including Information-based Lending platform of Krungsri,”
Sam Tanskul, Managing Director of Krungsri Finnovate
Before this investment, Choco CRM had previously secured US$1.25 million in funding from InVent, the corporate venture capital arm of Thailand’s telecommunication giant INTOUCH Holdings, back in September 2018.