iMile, a Dubai-based last-mile delivery start-up, has secured $10 million in Series A funding, led by a venture capital firm active in China’s logistics market.
The startup, which also has offices across China and other parts of the Middle East handles the logistics to complete the last leg of the delivery process, bringing a shopper’s parcel from the warehouse or distribution centre to the doorstep. Its client base includes UAE’s e-commerce heavyweights, Noon.com and Mumzworld.
iMile will use the new investment to hire additional staff and expand its footprint in the Middle East.
“The investment will be used to accelerate growth and expansion of the company’s team and operations across the region – namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt,” the company said in a statement.
Investment
According to its founder, Rita Huang, the new investment will enable the firm to continue creating last-mile delivery technological solutions.
“iMile will be expanding its technology centres to advance the company’s expansion plans, and we aim to at least double the number of new engineers and technical talent we will be onboarding over the coming year,” said Huang.
She also revealed plans to invest in a brand-new research and development centre in the Middle East that would promote knowledge and capacity building for technical talent in the region.
Huang pointed out that last-mile delivery firms play an important role in ensuring the product gets to the end-user quickly, especially during crises situations like the coronavirus outbreak.
“The SARS outbreak in China in 2003 was a turning point for the country’s largest e-commerce players, such as Alibaba for example. When the demand for delivery of fast-moving consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and other daily necessities ramped up, the e-commerce and last-mile delivery sectors evolved in order to keep pace with the needs of the market,” she added.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
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