EGYPT – Bosta, a Cairo-based e-commerce logistics startup has secured undisclosed pre-series B funding round to facilitate expansion into the Middle East.
The latest funding round was led by Khwarizmi Ventures, along with other current investors in addition to Hassan Allam Holding.
The startup has just announced the opening of its first office in Riyadh, signaling the official launch of its business to provide its distinguished services to its customers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The move has been made in line with the country’s Vision 2030 initiatives to support the local economy through various strategic programs aimed at business owners and entrepreneurs.
The expansion is also part of Bosta’s plan to spread and offer its services across the Middle East after a very successful launch in Egypt.
“We are pleased to launch Bosta in Riyadh. We believe that this step will enable us to significantly expand our activities in a market that’s very important to us,” said Eng. Mohamed Ezzat, co-founder and CEO of Bosta.
“Our office in Riyadh is Bosta’s first venture in the Arab region, continuing our success that started in Egypt in 2017 that managed to deliver 10 million shipments since our introduction in the market.”
Launched in 2017, the company has delivered more than 4 million packages to businesses, more than half since the pandemic outbreak.
Bosta completes more than 300,000 deliveries per month, which is a 3.5x increase from when it raised its previous round. Its services are used by 2,200 businesses daily and achieve a 95% delivery success rate.
The startup relies on its network of freelance drivers who are paid for every successfully delivered order.
The company doesn’t own fleets of vehicles to carry out operations. Instead, it operates an Uber-like model where drivers sign up, are made contractors, and make money when a delivery is completed.
The first and last mile is done by this fleet and the middle mile (for inter-city couriers) by rented vans.
Asides from small businesses, Bosta works with major e-commerce platforms like Souq (an Amazon company) and Jumia.
Depending on the volume of goods transported, Bosta charges small businesses about 35-40 Egyptian pounds(US$2.23 – US$2.55), while the big players are charged less at 20-25 Egyptian pounds(US$1.27 – US$1.59).
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