Cambodia’s leading e-commerce site Smile Shop has partnered with Chinese venture capital firm Jin Sha Group to develop its platform to allow consumers to directly purchase listed products instantly on credit.
The strategic partnership was signed under a non-disclosure agreement between Jack Lee, CEO of Smile Shop App and Liu Yang, the Chairman of Jin Sha Group. Cambodia Investment Review has been informed the deal was “in the millions” and in return for a portion of Smile Shop shares.
Jack Lee, CEO of Smile Shop told Cambodia Investment Review the company plans to enable its consumers to purchase products on the site through credit and pay the item back in installments with the merchant paying a small fee.
He added Smile Shop is currently partnering with local microfinance institutions and banks – who already met central bank regulations – to offer the e-installment option.
“The capital will fuel the company’s expansion to be a super e-commerce platform. We will invest more in fin-tech, supply chain, logistics, support local products of Cambodia to sell overseas, and customer service to turn Smile Shop to be the most customer-centric platform,” Lee said.
“We are delighted to bring on board Jin Sha Group, who believes in our vision and wants to be part of this journey,” he added.
Liu Yang, the Chairman of Jin Sha Group said that Smile Shop has been performing impressively on a bigger scale during the pandemic as the platform has been playing an important role in the e-commerce business.
“We are extremely excited to collaborate with Jack and his team to expand the company to grow to new heights, to reach greater milestones and to create a better life for Cambodians by integrating technology and the internet,” he said.
“Share the burdens with the country, fulfill people’s goal” is Jin Sha’s mission. Jin Sha Group would like to mainly invest in new infrastructure, vocational education, health care, new media, agricultural technology, etc.” he added.
According to the company, Cambodia’s revenue in the e-Commerce market is projected to reach $251 million in 2021 and is expected to show an annual growth rate (2021-2025) of 8.94%, resulting in a projected market volume of $354 million by 2025
