Cambodia-based fintech startup Clik has raised $3.7 million in seed funding led by European B2B payment firm Openway and Poems Pte Ltd, the company said in an announcement.
Poems is the investment holding company of Phillip Capital, a Singaporean financial house with over $35 billion under management, according to the statement. Participating in the round were several global angel investors, a third of which are Cambodia-based.
Clik claimed that its seed round was the largest recorded seed financing raised by a Southeast Asian startup in the mobile payments sector.
It said the investment will be used to scale its product engineering and customer service teams, as it plans an official launch in Cambodia by the end of 2020.
Founded in 2016, Clik is Cambodia’s first independent mPOS and SoftPOS merchant acquirer, enabling consumer payments from cards, wallets and bank accounts while enabling merchants to accept such payments. Clik has also developed its own e-KYC solution.
The company currently has nearly 2,500 merchants and five financial institutions in its beta programmes, as well as access to over 56,000 more merchants via their partners. The partners include established Cambodian retailers such as Ucare Pharmacy, convenience shop brand Kiwimart and local conglomerate Chip Mong Retail.
Clik said it has collaborated with UK-based MYPINPAD to launch tap-to-pay digital payments. MYPINPAD is the first company in the world to achieve Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council certification for its software-only Contactless Payments on Commercial (CPoC) off-the-shelf solutions.
Clik also revealed that it will integrate with the National Bank of Cambodia’s digital currency, Bakong.
“The closing of our seed round is a sign that investors are eager to back future proof platforms for the ‘new normal’ that will inevitably exist post-COVID. It also shows that investors see attractive opportunities for investment in Cambodia, especially in start-ups with robust regional potential,” said Matthew Tippetts, CEO and co-founder of Clik.
In conjunction with the seed funding, the startup has added senior hires to its team, including COO Patrice Vignes, who was CFO of Cambodian microfinance institution Amret and other multi-national corporations; chief design and strategy officer Olivier Mermet; and Matthew Maddocks as an independent director, chairing the risk and compliance committee.
Clik has also promoted Denver Gibson from deputy CTO to the CTO position, as co-founder and former CTO Darren Jensen remains as a blockchain advisor.
