Phnom Penh-based investment holding firm Iron Capital Plc has raised $5.7 million in a Series A financing round from an undisclosed private strategic investor, to develop the first digitalised automotive ecosystem in the Kingdom, according to a Deal Street Asia (DSA) report on July 12.

The company said in a statement that it would use the proceeds from the round to ramp up development of a mobile application and a custom garage technology system to provide customers with smoother access to its products and services, the Singapore-based financial news outlet reported.

An investor in garage franchises and digital media firms, Iron Capital is gunning for a July-September release for version 1.0 of its mobile app.

Iron Capital co-founder Richard Seang noted that the majority of the Kingdom’s automotive market is controlled by “small and inefficient” mom-and-pop operations, and that larger dealerships are priced out of reach for the average Cambodian shopper, as reported by DSA.

The Post was unable to reach Iron Capital CEO Lee Wei Ken for comment on July 18, but DSA quoted him as saying: “Automotive consumers in Cambodia have long had to contend with low-quality spare parts and fraudulent repair services provided by irresponsible market players.

“Our goal is to level the playing field for consumers and create a new ecosystem through our ISO-certified car service centres, spare part supply chain, financial services and tie it all together via technology.”

He said that through the ecosystem, Iron Capital seeks to offer customers 15-20 per cent cost savings over existing dealerships.

The company was founded in 2019 by car veterans Seang and Alice Sok, along with entrepreneur Tommy Sim, who co-founded local venture capital firm Sim Brothers Plc.

Iron Capital’s investment portfolio includes A Klasse Auto Co Ltd, the Kingdom’s first dual-ISO certified private garage franchise and Advanced Auto Digital Media Co Ltd, which puts out automotive content, according to DSA.