Sprout Solutions raises $6 million in Series A round

TECHNOLOGY start-up Sprout Solutions has closed its Series A financing, raising approximately $6-million fresh capital to bankroll its operating expenses and expansion plan.

“We are expanding throughout the provinces, whereas previously we’ve been focused on Metro Manila,” Sprout Solutions Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder Patrick Gentry told reporters in a media briefing at the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. “The other [plan] is building products and services that are needed specifically here in the Philippines.”

The investors for the homegrown company’s second round of funding completed last September 26, including Point72 Ventures, Dymon Asia, Next Billion Ventures (NBV) and Endeavor Catalyst.

Existing investors, such as local firm Kickstart Ventures, and Singapore-based firms Beenext and Wavemaker Partners, took part again after participating in Sprout’s late 2017 seed round that raised $1.6 million.

Sprout Solutions is a software company that seeks to help companies in the Philippines grow through its suite of back-end solutions that address human resource (HR), payroll and recruitment difficulties.

The software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider has introduced end-to-end processing and seamless automation across HR and payroll processes, including employee 201 file management, attendance tracking and management, and compliance with government regulations, including automating 21 different payroll-related government forms.

To date, Sprout has served around 300 Philippine-based businesses, mostly midsized enterprises. It caters to verticals, such as businessprocess outsourcing, food and beverage, hospitality, manufacturing, and government.

Around 75,000 employees of Sprout’s clients currently use its system. The firm targets to reach one million users for its software by the end of 2023. Location-wise, it seeks to expand in Davao and Clark early next year, while broadening its existing presence in Cebu.

With Sprout’s latest capital raising activity, tech start-ups in the country are now gaining ground in the investment market, according to the company’s CEO and founder.

“It’s a major signal that the Philippines is a rising star on the investment landscape,” he said.