by HARIZAH KAMEL / pic credit: web.jomparking.com

LEADING end-to-end parking solutions provider JomParkir Sdn Bhd has secured an undisclosed amount of Series A financing from South Korean venture capital firm, TheVentures.

Its CEO Muhamad Nasir Habizar said the strategic partnership with TheVentures will enable the company to enhance its systems and technology in its efforts to lead the digitalisation of the parking industry in South-East Asia.

“It would enable us to build the first vehicle data exchange in South-East Asia while spearheading the parking industry’s transition into adopting the smart city concept.

“This will bring greater value to all our stakeholders, in particular, state and local councils, as we advance into the digitalisation of processes and services,” he said in a recent statement.

He added that to bring about the initiative, the company is working closely with other agencies such as the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute, Cyberview Sdn Bhd, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corp, the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre, and Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd.

As part of its strategic collaboration with TheVentures, JomParkir will capitalise on Korea’s advance technology with the aim to revolutionise the parking industry and be the leading vehicle-to-everything tech company in South-East Asia.

Based in South Korea, TheVentures is an investor and incubator for early-stage start-ups focusing on technology, community and impact, and has investments in over 70 companies worldwide.

Its CEO Chanseong Ho said now is the time to accelerate the adoption of technology in response to the Covid-19 pandemic as the shift towards digitalisation is at its peak.

He stated that JomParkir is poised to capitalise on market opportunities by utilising the latest in hi-tech parking solutions that would essentially change the parking landscape in Malaysia.

“As a point of reference, our investment in ParkHere, a Korean parking reservation and payment service a few years ago, was successfully acquired by Kakao Corp, a Korean mobile messenger operator, for an estimated US$16 million (RM66.72 million) in 2016.

“We are, therefore, optimistic of our investment in JomParkir given the company’s business strategy to capitalise on the market upside,” he added. JomParkir has over 20 sites nationwide, two sites in Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka, and has also launched two new sites at Tanah Merah, Kelantan, and Taman Mutiara Raya in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, in the second quarter of 2020.

With over 400,000 registered users and over five million transactions in 2019 alone, the company has recorded a 200% growth rate since 2018.

The upswing to its growth performance is encouraging, given the company has in its pipeline 17 new site launches — 10 in the domestic front and seven abroad.