Saudi E-commerce Logistics Startup Torod Raises $1.4M Seed Round

Saudi-based e-commerce logistics platform, Torod, has announced the closing of a $1.4 million Seed round led by Riyadh-based  IMPACT46, with participation from other local investors including Hala Ventures and Seedra Ventures.

Torod was founded in 2022 by Faisal Almaklas and Ammar Almaatouq to bring together their expertise in e-commerce and logistics, enabling fast and cost-effective shipping for direct-to-consumer (D2C) retailers, so they can track and manage their orders through a single interface by the platform. 

The transport and logistics sector has been growing progressively, with a recent report across emerging venture markets showing quarter on quarter growth of over 80% in Q1’22 compared to Q1’21. At local and regional levels, e-commerce has stood as one of the most prolific sectors. In 2021, VC investments in Saudi e-commerce startups reached $170 million, which made up 31% of the total amount of overall investments. That figure stood at $548 million, placing KSA second in the MENA region for funding, second only to UAE.

“Post the covid pandemic the number of online buyers jumped and many businesses moved to online selling and that comes with a higher expectation from the shoppers for good delivery service,” said Faisal Almaklas, CEO & Co-founder of Torod. “To meet these expectations, e-commerce has to enhance the delivery checkout experience and make sure it’s backed by the best-fit delivery partner reflecting the same values merchants are aspiring to. Here Torod comes to help the merchants control and monitor the whole process by catering to customers' variant needs.”

Soon after the platform was launched, Torod was awarded the best shipment tracking solution in Saudi Arabia. It also received the MIT university award as one of the 3 best innovative solutions in the region. 

“With the fast growth that the e-commerce industry is witnessing in our region, there come new challenges and problems that require new solutions to serve and keep up with changing consumer behaviour,” said Mohammed Alnasyan from IMPACT46. “Torod enables this industry by providing new innovative solutions for merchants and logistics companies to ultimately enhance the customer experience. Torod team, led by Faisal Almaklas and Ammar Almaatouq, comes with a unique and complementary experience in e-commerce and logistics that we believe is important to realize Torod’s vision.”

The new capital will be used to accelerate Torod’s mission of enabling a fast and cost-effective shipping process for D2C retailers, and enhancing the post-order experience for merchants and consumers.