Egyptian Startup Mylerz Raises $9.6M to Expand Across Africa
The ecommerce fulfillment startup will first look to Egypt's North African neighburs for its expansion plans, before setting its eyes on the whole continent.
As ecommerce and logistics continue to rise the ranks of Egypt’s most prolific sectors, Mylerz has announced its intention to expand beyond its home borders and into North Africa, after the raise of a $£9.6 million growth funding round.
Led by Egyptian private equity firm, Lorax Capital Partners, the round also included participation from leading fintech Fawry, whose agents will now be brought into Mylerz’s fold.
Founded in 2019 by Samer Gharibeh, Mylerz is an ecommerce fulfilment startup that allows users to track delivery orders, change their destination and times, while also serving up insights such as consumer behaviour and demographics. Currently, Mylerz operates out of 21 fulfilment centres, with its biggest yet - a 250,000 sqm hub - in the pipeline. “We operate a decentralized system, and these hubs, which are close to our customers, help us to consolidate the packages and dispatch for deliveries fast enough to meet our promise of same day delivery,” Gharaibeh explains.
The startup also operates a fleet of 350-plus eco-friendyly vehicles powered by compressed natural gas, something that has served to add to the allure of a startup that is looking to tackle the many issues that riddle last mile delivery in Egypt. “Mylerz has leveraged its know-how and premium technology offering to address several problems associated with last-mile delivery in Egypt including complex routes, the prevalence of cash, and diverse merchants with diverse needs,” said Ashraf Zaki, Managing Partner at Lorax Capital Partners. “Lorax is backing Mylerz to become the continent’s first fully integrated e-commerce logistics player, bringing a unique blend of premium customer service and efficient delivery services to regional businesses and consumers alike.”
The investment continues a rich vein of form for the transport and logistics sector, which - if Turkey is brought into the occasion - has recorded an impressive $925 million in Q1’22, an 86% QoQ growth compared to Q1’21. Granted, that was largely driven by a $768 million raise byTurkey’s Getir, but Trukker, AHOY (both UAE) and Baly (Iraq) have also complete notable raises. In Egypt, the likes of Nqla and Yalla Fel Sekka have also turned heads with their own raises this year.
On the part of Mylerz, this investment unlocks expansion into a ripe African continent, starting with Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, while also expanding its footprint backhome. A longer play is in the works too, however, with a growing ecommerce market in east Africa promising big opportunities. The goal? To become a pan-African shipping logistics provider.
