Karachi-based e-commerce logistics startup Rider has raised USD 2.3 million in a seed round led by Global Founders Capital, Fatima Gobi Ventures, and the Asian Development Bank, the company announced in a statement. TPL E-Ventures and Transhold also participated in the deal.
Founded by Salman Allana in 2019, Rider offers last-mile delivery services to e-commerce retailers in Pakistan. The startup has over 500 drivers in its fleet, covering 80 cities in the country. Rider claims to have delivered 1.5 million e-commerce parcels to date with a success rate of 93%. Its clients include the top five online retailers in Pakistan, including Khaadi and Daraz, the startup wrote in a statement.
The e-commerce logistics space in Pakistan is primarily dominated by conventional logistics firms, but thanks to Rider’s technology platform and offerings like 24-hour cash repayment and one-day delivery lead time, the startup has made deep inroads into the market. Rider’s tech stack includes route optimization software, live tracking, live scheduling, and automated warehousing. It has helped the company optimize processes and build real-time connectivity between its shippers, delivery agents, and customers.
“When we launched Rider, only 80–85% of deliveries in Pakistan were making it to the customers’ doorsteps, translating to millions of dollars lost, operational inefficiencies, and frustrated shippers and customers. Our tech has improved this, while our operations identify and solve the underlying causes behind these stats. For instance, Rider’s in-house delivery agent behavioral analysis and geo-tagging processes help eradicate fake delivery attempts,” Allana, CEO of Rider, said.
Allana was previously head of strategy and business development at UPS Pakistan and assistant vice president at Citibank. With the latest funds, Allana and his team plan to expand Rider’s offerings and presence to cover all of Pakistan.
“We’re excited about the investors we have onboard—they collectively bring unparalleled logistics industry expertise and emerging markets exposure. Their capital injection will enable Rider’s plans to expand our network and integrate our proven last-mile service into other key parts of the value chain. Ultimately, we want to build an end-to-end e-commerce logistics solution. Our vision is to be the number one logistics solutions provider for Pakistan’s e-commerce needs,” the company’s CEO said.
“Rider’s belief that ‘technology moves everything’ has already raised the bar on delivery lead times, cash repayment cycles, and delivery success rates in Pakistan’s logistics industry. With so many customer-centric and problem-solving solutions on the horizon, we cannot wait to see how far Rider’s tech offerings will go in supporting Pakistan’s e-commerce growth ambitions,” said Ali Mukhtar, general partner at Fatima Gobi Ventures.
Jay Lim, venture partner at Global Founders Capital, added, “GFC believes that Pakistan’s startup scene is primed to grow rapidly in the next few years, especially within the e-commerce space. We have invested in a number of founders in Pakistan recently and will invest in more in the coming year. Founders like Salman from Rider will play one of the most important roles in developing last-mile logistics as well as the entire logistics infrastructure necessary to propel Pakistan’s commerce forward.”
This article first appeared in MENAbytes.
