iMILE PLANS TO USE NEW $10 MILLION FUND FOR EXPANSION TRANSPORT

▶ Last mile delivery company wants to enter Egypt, Kuwait and Morocco

iMile, a delivery company in Dubai, plans to open a research and development centre in the region and expand its services across the Middle East after having raised $10 million (Dh36.7m) in pre-Series A funding, the company’s founder said.

The round was led by a Chinese venture capital that specialises in the logistics industry and will help the start-up take its services to Egypt, Kuwait and Morocco in its push for regional expansion, Rita Huang, told The National.

She did not name the Chinese backer of the company.

“Improving iMile’s tech prowess, customer experience and hiring new talent are our top priorities in the coming months,” said Ms Huang, who is also the chief executive of iMile. “Some analysts say that logistics is out-of-fashion now … [but] as a next generation company, we see massive potential.”

IMile’s last mile delivery operations span the two biggest Arab economies – Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Last mile delivery is defined as the movement of goods from a transportation hub to the final destination. The rapid surge in the logistics industry and an increase in the demand for last mile delivery services is driving the growth of the sector.

IMile operates two R&D centres in Shenzhen and Hangzhou in China and plans to open a third in the Middle East – either in the UAE or Saudi Arabia – in the coming months.

“Our aim is to develop local solutions and technology to address regional needs. An indigenous R&D centre would also promote knowledge and capacity building in the region,” she added.

The global last mile delivery market is forecast to reach $61.57 billion in the next five years, from $31.19bn in 2018, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 10.2 per cent, according to Brandessence Market Research in London.

After raising an undisclosed initial seed capital from angel investors, Ms Huang founded the company in June 2017. “We are excited to have strategic investors on board who understand how iMile is challenging the status quo in last mile delivery,” said Ms Huang, who has nearly a decade of experience in the Middle East and North Africa region. “This [new] funding will enable us to continue our work of creating innovative last mile solutions and scale our business,” she said.

Before starting iMile, she was the chief technology officer of an Alibaba-Meraas cloud computing venture in Dubai. Prior to that she was the country manager for Huawei in the UAE.

IMile’s clients include e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Noon and Mumzworld, and leading Chinese fashion and lifestyle platforms such as Shein and Club Factory.

The company is working on both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets, enabling Chinese merchants to sell on platforms such as Amazon and Noon in the region. “We are catering to the end consumers as well,” said Ms Huang. The company’s services include collecting an order from Chinese warehouses, cross-border shipment, custom clearance in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, then delivering the product to the customer’s doorstep.

IMile also offers warehouse and fulfillment facilities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where sellers can store their goods and iMile’s staff prepare orders and deliver.

The company has around 700 employees spread across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and China. Nearly 40 per cent of its staff are engineers, engaged in developing last-mile technology. There are plans to increase its technical team two to three-fold moving forward, Ms Huang said.

The company, which is already breaking even, last year saw a near 10 times year-onyear increase in new bookings.

“There are quarters when we are profitable while sometimes we are only touching the breakeven point,” said Ms Huang, who is now looking for a local investor for the next round of funding.

Ms Huang sees the coronavirus outbreak as an opportunity to prove the business’s agility.

The Sars outbreak in China in 2003 was a turning point for the country’s largest e-commerce players, such as Alibaba, she said.