Press Release: The Retail Startup “Billz” Is Raising Funds on the Startup Co-Investment Platform “VentureRocket Eurasia”

The AIFC member and Uzbekistan-based retail startup, “Billz”, is launching its first fundraising campaign on the VentureRocket Eurasia (VRE) platform on 20 December, 2021.

         Billz (https://billz.uz/) is a software solution that helps both manage and boost online and offline retail business. The company offers a set of intuitive and easy-to-use tools that serve to analyze sales, manage goods, staff, and finances, attract more customers, and even educate the team on the retail processes.

“We help small and medium businesses achieve maximum efficiency while saving time and money, by providing easy-to-use technologies to simplify their day-to-day workflows, customer management tools, and intelligent analytics. More than 700 retailers are already using our solution. Fundraising will help us work out the technical aspects of our product and its further scaling both regionally and globally,” – mentioned Rustam Hamdamov, the CEO and Co-Founder of Billz.

   Billz is the second technological startup launching its fundraising campaign on VRE. The Astana International Financial Centers’ Fintech Hub and a global R&D and innovation company, Titanium Technologies, have founded the platform earlier this year. The VRE is licensed and incorporated by the Astana Financial Services Authority.

          “It is a considerable step for the Central Asian VC market to have a new tool of investing in startups. VRE not only serves as a platform for raising capital but also unites investors, startups, and other ecosystem players in one place. We firmly believe VRE will give a new impulse for VC development in the region and invite funds, VC and angel investors to join our platform,” – shared Arslan Kudiyar, the CEO at VentureRocket Eurasia.

In early 2019, the startup got acquainted with the Sturgeon Capital fund, and a few months later, more serious negotiations regarding investments began. In August 2019, an agreement was signed on the main terms of the transaction (Term sheet), and in April 2020, investments were received. The whole process took almost 9 months from the moment of signing the agreement.

“Billz is a good example of how the company can improve the digitalization and retail automation industry, which is making a significant contribution to the economy and employment in the region. At the same time, the startup is headed by one of the most talented management teams in Central Asia,” – added the Sturgeon Capital’s investment director, Robin Butler. The fund will be investing in the startup.

The raised funds will be spent on the further technical support of the startup and the development of its functionality to attract more customers to Billz.

To learn more and connect with Billz, please, register on VentureRocket Eurasia. 

Reference:

The Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) was established on the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, within the framework of the Plan of the Nation called “100 Steps to Implement Five Institutional Reforms”.

On July 2, 2020, within the framework of the meeting of the AIFC Management Council, the Development Strategy of the Center till 2025 was adopted.

According to it, the vision of the AIFC is to become a leading international financial center in the region, including Central Asia, the Caucasus, the EAEU countries, Western China, Mongolia, and Eastern Europe.

AIFC’s mission is to promote the region’s sustainable long-term development. As the Head of State K. Tokayev noted, “The AIFC with its unique capabilities can act as a universal platform connecting the countries of the region.”

www.aifc.kz

The AIFC Tech Hub is a meeting point for global startups, entrepreneurs, corporations, investors, leading industry experts, and specialists. The development of technologies in the AIFC covers programs to support startups, corporate innovations, and the venture capital market as well as specially developed rules and a regulator that allow testing products and solutions in technology. https://tech.aifc.kz/

VentureRocket Eurasia is a startup ecosystem management and investment platform, set up by the Fintech Hub of the AIFC (https://fintech.aifc.kz/) and the global research and innovation company, Titanium Technologies (https://titanium-tech.net/).

This is the first co-investment platform for startups in Central Asia that aims at attracting regional and global capital providers. For investors, this platform is an opportunity to connect with vetted startups, invest with other partners, and enter a global network of other ecosystem members to get startup support services from them. 

https://venturerocket.vc/