WhyQ, a Singapore-based food delivery platform, has successfully secured an additional MYR4.6 million ($1.08 million) in an extension to their Series A2 funding round.

The extended round was led by the Kairos FoodTech Fund of Kairos Capital Group, WhyQ said in a statement.

The initial Series A2 round of MYR11.8 million ($2.78 million) closed in 2021 and included Delivery Hero, Chope, Angel Central, and RB Investments.

With this additional funding from the extended Series A2 Round, WhyQ plans to continue expanding its digitalization platform and supporting the growth of small businesses in Singapore and Malaysia.

WhyQ will focus on improving their existing products and developing new ones to help small businesses better compete in the digital economy.

As part of its planned project trajectory in 2023, WhyQ plans to add more features to the eBiz app, such as customisable templates for online storefronts and integrations with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopee and Lazada.

The firm also plans to partner with more logistics providers and payment gateways to give small businesses even more options for fulfilling orders and accepting payments.

Additionally, it plans to enhance their digital bookkeeping app with new features such as automatic sales and expense categorizations, inventory management, and bill payments.

The firm will also continue to expand its network of lending partners to provide more options for small businesses seeking low-interest and quick loans.

It will also strengthen the digital payment infrastructure for MSMEs by offering a wide range of payment solutions that solve the needs of merchants as they go digital.

Overall, WhyQ’s goal is to provide small businesses with the tools and support they need to thrive in the digital world.

“Collaborating closely with hawkers in Singapore for the past five years has allowed us to understand the challenges that small business owners face when it comes to digitalization,” said Varun Saraf, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of WhyQ.

“Leveraging on our experience partnering with small-scale food and beverage (F&B) owner-operators like hawkers, we would like to extend our expertise to now help small business owners in Malaysia to digitalise properly, with simple and free products,

“With key backers and partners such as Kairos, Delivery Hero, Ant Group, Chope, we are in a strong position to lead in the region,” he added.

WhyQ started as a hawker food delivery service in 2017, and grew to become the largest MSME-focused food delivery platform in Singapore.

The firm has since added products to build a digital infrastructure for MSMEs – enabling them to sell and grow their business online, and helping them with digital bookkeeping and microfinancing.

WhyQ currently powers over 20,000 small businesses in Singapore and Malaysia by providing them with the tools they need to succeed in the digital world.

The firm offers two free products: an eBiz app (WhyQ EBiz) and a digital bookkeeping app (WhyQ Kira Kira).

The eBiz app enables micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to create their own online storefronts, connect with popular marketplaces like Foodpanda, accept online payments, and connect with logistics services like Lalamove – all within 60 seconds.

This makes it easy for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to set up a digital presence quickly and easily and start selling online.

The digital bookkeeping app, Kira Kira, on the other hand, allows small businesses to track their daily transactions, manage their accounts, and apply for low-interest loans from partners such as Funding Societies.

This makes it easy for businesses to stay on top of their finances and access the funding they need to grow.

“Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the economic backbone of Southeast Asia, accounting for more than 90 percent of all companies and are the primary drivers of social mobility. The pandemic has increased demand for more adoption and integration of digital technology among SMEs,

“However, many SMEs face numerous barriers to adopting technology at a critical time of need. WhyQ is well positioned to help SMEs with their digitalisation challenges, by providing the digital infrastructure and tools to close the digital divide for merchants in SEA,” said Eric Cheong, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Kairos Capital Group.

“Kairos Capital is excited to work closely with the WhyQ team in driving the digital transformation agenda for SMEs in SEA forward, creating an economic wave to uplift the livelihoods and resilience of small business owners and merchants in an increasingly competitive online commerce environment,” he added.

Rishabh Singhvi, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of WhyQ, said :”In Malaysia, small businesses play a crucial role in both the economy and culture. However, they often struggle to find products that cater to their specific needs. This problem has intensified since the pandemic, making it more important than ever for small businesses to adapt to the online world of commerce.”

“WhyQ is dedicated to helping merchants do just that, and we are already one of the market leaders in Malaysia. We are closing the digital gap for tens of thousands of merchants and paving the way for a more comprehensive and accessible digital infrastructure,” he added.

SEA food delivery platforms total GMV grows 5% y-o-y to $16.3B in 2022