Saudi-based fulfillment & delivery startup Oda raises first round
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Saudi Arabia-based e-commerce fulfillment and logistics provider oda has successfully raised an undisclosed amount in its first fundraise. The Pre-Seed funding round was led by key angel investors including Yasser Al-Ghamdi and comes as a platform launcher for the startup.
Founded in 2019, oda, a brand owned by Express Transportation, manages the technical and operational process for last-mile delivery services for several brands, moving from e-commerce to quick commerce experience. The Saudi-based startup presents a fully integrated e-commerce platform equipped with technologies streamlining delivery & same-day shipping, content marketing services, and seller support operations. oda is working to initially launch its services in Riyadh and will expand the scope of its operations to include the rest of the Kingdom’s regions, in order to expand to other GCC countries by 2022.
Investor appetite for Delivery & Logistics solutions in Saudi Arabia seems to grow as observed in our H1 2021 EVM Delivery & Logistics Report. As venture capital backing Saudi D&L startups grow by 3% YoY in H1 2021, with Saudi-based D&L startups closing 150% more deals in the first half of the year YoY, this investment comes in a series of signs for untapped potential in the Delivery & Logistics sector across Emerging Venture Markets.
Oda has consolidated E-commerce, FinTech, and Shipment solutions into the platform seamlessly, helping brands, SME’s, and individuals digitize their commerce swiftly. On the platform, sellers can list and manage their products, open their virtual stores, and get paid through an embedded gateway. In light of this platform launcher, Younis Al Jameel, founder, and CEO of Express Transportation LLC. commented “Due to our experience in providing last-mile delivery services for several brands, we have noticed the absence of integrated technical solutions that provide appropriate technical connectivity for brands In managing and organizing sales and delivery operations. Although there are many technical companies that provide e-store services, they often stop at technical empowerment only and do not extend to include operational solutions in the logistical field. While we seek in oda to manage the technical and operational process under one easy-to-use umbrella, will take the seller and customer experience to the level of a global trend moving from e-commerce to q-commerce through the strategy of (dark store) distributed within cities."
oda plans to utilize its newly acquired funds in order to develop its services in the field of e-commerce and logistics to a competitive level commensurate with the latest technical and operational solutions in managing electronic stores projects, related to warehousing, fulfillment, and express delivery on the same day. This contributes to achieving the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 in making a qualitative leap in the field of e-commerce by raising the level of services provided to entrepreneurs, brand owners, and customers alike. On a last note, Yasser Al-Ghamdi, one of "oda" angel investors concluded: “By virtue of our knowledge of the e-commerce sector and its transformation, we found that a number of companies and brands are facing difficulties in managing and organising sales, storage, and express delivery, as it needs to link several different technical systems to manage electronic sales services, logistics solutions, and inventory management. Therefore, we established "oda" to present an integrated business model to connect the three services in one platform.”
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