Pakistan-based last-mile delivery provider Rider has bagged $2.3 million in a seed funding round; while South Korean travel platform Yanolja will acquire 70% stake in the country’s e-commerce pioneer, Interpark, for about $250 million.
Pakistan’s Rider bags $2.3m seed funding
Pakistan’s last-mile delivery provider Rider has bagged $2.3 million in a seed funding round led by Global Founders Capital, Fatima Gobi Ventures, and ADB Ventures, according to an announcement.
Local investors TPL E-Ventures and Transhold also participated in the round.
The Karachi-based B2B2C service was launched in 2019 by Salman Allana, who was previously head of strategy and business development at UPS Pakistan and assistant vice president at Citi Bank.
Operating as a B2B2C service, Rider delivers e-commerce products from online stores and marketplaces to the customers’ doorstop. The company claims that as of September 2021, its delivery network spans over 80 cities in Pakistan, and more than 300 delivery agents.
The funding will fuel Rider’s network expansion and the integration of its last-mile service into other key parts of the value chain, it said.
Global Founders Capital, one of the lead investors, is an investor in Pakistan’s Truck It In, Safepay, and online marketplace Bazaar.
Meanwhile, ADB Ventures, the venture arm of the Asian Development Bank, invests in early-stage technology companies globally that address urgent development challenges in emerging Asia and the Pacific. In Pakistan, ADB Ventures has backed B2B e-commerce startup Dastgyr.
Fatima Gobi Ventures (FGV) is a joint venture between Pakistan conglomerate Fatima Ventures and pan-Asian VC Gobi Partners. FGV’s strong combination of Fatima Ventures’ local expertise and Gobi Partners’ regional know-how has helped the VC spot first movers and get ahead of key trends.
S Korea’s Yanolja acquires 70% stake in Interpark
South Korean travel and leisure platform Yanolja has signed an agreement to acquire 70% in e-commerce pioneer Interpark, for about $250 million.
Through the acquisition, the company plans to make further inroads into the overseas tourism industry, per a TechCrunch report. Interpark will set up a new e-commerce firm in charge of its travel, performing arts, shopping, and book businesses, Yanolja said, without disclosing a specific timeframe.
Interpark started its service in 1996 and is the first e-commerce company in Korea. It offers online travel booking services and international shipping to more than 230 countries and targets Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese-speaking customers.
This acquisition comes a few months after Yanolja raised $1.7 billion funding round from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 in July.
Yanolja had raised $69 million in two previous funding rounds in 2015 and 2017.
The travel unicorn has invested in companies within the online travel sector such as South Korea-based Triple and T Port Inc, as well as Singapore budget hotel network ZEN Rooms. Yanolja also acquired players in the industry across Korea, India, and Germany, like eZee Technosys, DAILYHOTEL, SeeReal, LeisureQ, and Korea Commodities Supply.