Egyptian E-Commerce Fulfillment Startup ShipBlu Raises $2.4 Million

Egypt-based e-commerce fulfillment service, ShipBlu, has secured $2.4 million in seed funding, following its Y Combinator graduation over the summer. The round was led by MENA-focused Nama Ventures with participation from 1984 Ventures, Orange Ventures, Starling Ventures along with other VC funds and angel investors. The startup will leverage the investment to accelerate its growth and expand its coverage across Egypt.

With online payments booming globally and in Egypt, Ahmed ElKawass and his co-founders founded ShipBlu in 2020 with an eye on the massive $3.1 billion last-mile delivery market in MENA. The startup operates a delivery and fulfillment model, shipping packages from retailers to customers across Egypt. During the first month after its launch in August 2020, ShipBlu on-boarded more than 40 merchants. Since then, the startup has succeeded in doubling its clientele and tripling its revenues.

ShipBlu stores products from merchants in its leased warehouses, linking with their online stores to monitor orders via a dashboard before packing orders and shipping them directly to customers. Customers are charged per package depending on size, destination and shipping speed. The company places shipping speed as a top priority, distinguishing it from other e-commerce fulfillment companies operating in the country. 

Driven by an ambition to transform an industry lagging behind other GCC countries, ShipBlu has sights set on penetrating the e-commerce fulfillment space in Egypt with a goal of reaching 99% of Egypt’s population. ShipBlu has developed AI and ML algorithms to overcome some of the fundamental challenges faced by last-mile or delivery providers in Egypt including high delivery failure rates and subsequently increased costs. The startup is set to disrupt the industry with promises of a three-hour delivery window for their packages with arrival dates - a stark contrast to how traditional e-commerce fulfillment companies function.