Nadya Eka Lestari
TechInAfrica — A logistics startup based in Cairo, Sprint, has secured six-figure seed funding. The funding came from an angel investor with an undisclosed amount and the investor’s name. Sprint mentioned that the investment was settled at a pre-money valuation of US$1.25 million.
Started in 2018 by Mohamed Deif, Sprint offers last-mile delivery solutions to e-commerce merchants aiming at micro-merchants with the monthly volume in a minimum of 30 orders a month.
Deif said that they’re using a hybrid model with 40 percent of couriers being their own salaried employees who are using vehicles owned by Sprint, 40 percent being freelancers (for these freelancers, Sprint is facilitating a financing program with the help of banking partners allowing them to buy bikes and pay for them in installments of three years), and the rest of 20 percent being the courier companies that could serve the areas (including international markets) where Sprint doesn’t have any presence.
Sprint has a delivery process that is a technology-enabled with a delivery management system where it offers location tracking and automated notifications for customers, and a dashboard for watching on their ongoing orders. The system can also be integrated with major e-commerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce.
The startup is now providing its services to business in Cairo and they plan to use the recently received investment to expand their business to Alexandria, Mansoura, Port Said, and Suez. Sprint offers a one-day delivery service for all the orders that are expected to be delivered in Cairo and also charges cash on behalf of its merchants from their customers.
The company has an escalating month-over-month growth rate of 35 percent since the launching in October 2018.
Regarding the investment, Deif, the co-Founder and CEO, said, “We’re really excited and confident in what we’re building. We’re focusing on improving the e-commerce and logistics ecosystem in the Middle East & North Africa by providing a technology-enabled platform that helps e-commerce merchants enjoy high-value logistics services & solutions regardless of their shipping volume.
“Our focus is to redefine Egypt’s logistics industry through our proprietary network design, infrastructure, partnerships, & technology capabilities,” he concluded.
Source: MENAbytes.com
