Choco Up, a leading growth financing platform for small and medium businesses in Asia, has announced three new senior leadership appointments. These new hires are part of the company’s plan to expand across the Asia-Pacific region.
The appointments will help Choco Up grow in a strong and sustainable way and strengthen its position as a trusted financing partner for SMEs in the region.
So far, Choco Up has supported over 1,000 small and medium businesses in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. It has provided growth funding to companies in e-commerce, software, and technology-based sectors.
With the new leadership team in place, the company will centralise planning and risk management. It will also strengthen its local market teams to support steady and well-managed expansion across the region.
Koichi Saito has been appointed as Head of Corporate Strategy at Choco Up. He brings more than 20 years of experience in corporate planning, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and venture building across the Asia-Pacific region.
He is the Founder and General Partner of KK Fund, a well-known early-stage venture capital firm focused on Southeast Asia. He has worked closely with startup founders to help them scale their businesses, enter new markets, and manage cross-border expansion. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at ORIX Group, worked in private equity with George Soros’ IHG, in investment banking at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, and in venture capital at IMJ Investment Partners, where he invested in many fast-growing startups. Overall, he has led investments in more than 30 companies.
In his new role, Mr Saito will guide Choco Up’s long-term strategy, build key partnerships, and lead the company’s next phase of regional growth.
Kitti Chiraseivinupraphand has been promoted to Chief Risk Officer as Choco Up grows its transaction volumes and expands across Asia-Pacific.
He joined the company in 2021 as Head of Risk and has over 20 years of experience in banking risk management in Asia. Before Choco Up, he worked in senior roles at Bangkok Bank and holds an MBA from Boston College. He has been a key person in building Choco Up’s AI-based credit assessment system, which allows the company to give same-day approvals while keeping strong risk controls.
In his new role, he will continue to strengthen risk management systems and technology to ensure smooth, safe, and controlled growth as the company scales.
Bart Joanilho has been appointed Country Head for Australia as Choco Up continues to grow its presence in the Australian market.
He has been leading Choco Up’s Australian operations since the company entered the market in 2023. He brings over 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur in property, food and beverage, and e-commerce, along with strong experience in building technology partnerships. Under his leadership, Choco Up has seen strong growth in Australia through smart market strategies and local-focused efforts.
In his new role, he will continue to strengthen local partnerships and manage operations in Australia, making sure the company’s goals are well executed in the market.
“Koichi, Kitti, and Bart each bring experience that is important to how we operate today,” said Percy Hung, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Choco Up. “As we expand across markets, aligning strategy, risk management and local execution becomes increasingly important. This leadership structure gives us the confidence to support SMEs more effectively as we propel towards becoming the go-to financing partner for APAC’s SMEs and e-commerce merchants.”
Read More- &Done raises $3 million in Series A funding led by RTP Global
