PostEx, Pakistan’s leading fintech acquires Call Courier becoming the largest e-commerce service provider
Lahore, Pakistan
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August 30, 2022 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Pakistan’s ecommerce sector is set to hit $12B by 2025 as adoption and growth scales. In propelling this growth PostEx, Pakistan’s leading fintech, is today announcing it has completed the acquisition of Call Courier, a logistics service provider; to expand its logistics offering making it the largest e-commerce service provider in the country. This transaction brings together PostEx’s upfront payments, revenue-based financing, and technology with Call Courier's nationwide logistics infrastructure.
Following the transaction, PostEx will now service 1.3m users with over 8,000 merchants across 500 cities in Pakistan, on track to becoming the largest fintech in Pakistan with a monthly loan book crossing $12m.
PostEx becomes the first company in the region to provide receivables factoring & logistics service that pays invoice values upfront to e-commerce companies; helping e-commerce sellers and SMEs to thrive, grow, and take full advantage of every opportunity that comes their way. PostEx, backed by leading investors that include Zayn,MSA, GFC, RTP, FJ Labs, Shorooq, VSQ, and others having raised $8.6 seed round - one of the largest for a Pakistani startup.
Call Courier will be a wholly owned subsidiary under the group name. PostEx welcomes Jawad Mirza, founder and CEO of Call Courier to its Board of Directors who will continue to play an integral role in the business while leading the logistics business.
Omer Khan, the founder & CEO of PostEx commented: “Banks just don't lend enough to businesses leaving so many of them struggling to maintain their working capital in light of inadequate cash flows. Cash on delivery, while being a problem for such businesses, is very much a reality of the Pakistani ecosystem and is not going away any time soon.
The concept behind PostEx was to facilitate all players in the ecommerce sector struggling to operate and expand in light of the restrictions around access to capital and inefficiencies of logistics. The acquisition of Call Courier enables us to increase our reach and benefit from the great business and team Jawad Mirza has managed to grow over the years.”
Call Courier’s strong presence in Pakistan complements PostEx’s vision and nationwide footprint. This strategic decision brings PostEx’s total presence to over 500 cities; serving up to 1.3 million people monthly across Pakistan as the transaction enables both companies to leverage each other’s technological and operational expertise.
Jawad Mirza, the founder & CEO of Call Courier commented: “Having more than 2 decades worth of experience in the logistcs and last mile delivery industry has given us an understanding of not only bulk mail but also ecommerce, cash on delivery and the needs of the sector. With this acquisition, it is time for us to venture into new horizons, accept new challenges, and continue to grow. Call courier network joining together with PostEx's fintech capabilities will enable us to provide quality deliveries across Pakistan along with financial support to the sector. It gives me immense pleasure to serve existing and new customers and providing a one window solution for their needs.”
Over 90% of ecommerce transactions are completed in cash, which represents almost $6.5bn. The majority of the consumers who shop online in Pakistan pay using the cash-on-delivery payment method and the payment cycles for such orders range between a week to a month which creates cash flow issues for online sellers. PostEx is solving these challenges with its fintech and logistics platform. In addition to cash-on-delivery, PostEx also offers Revenue Based Financing to provide easy access to capital making it the first and last source of non-dilutive financing for e-commerce.
Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan, Member of Prime Ministers IT Task Force Committee commented: "Consolidation and growing together is important at this juncture for our nascent ecosystem. This acquisition shows the importance of close collaboration between fintech and logistics highlighting the importance of access to capital. This acquisition makes PostEx the largest ecommerce service provider in the market, showing the potential of startups for challenging incumbents. It's refreshing to see new solutions to old problems."
AUC Law, Salahuddin, Saif & Aslam Co. and MHBWHB Law Associates were the legal advisors for the transaction.
About PostEx
Founded in 2020, PostEx is a hybrid of receivables factoring solution and courier service that pays invoice values upfront to e-commerce companies offering Cash on Delivery as one of their modes of payment. PostEx is also offering free of charge delivery service to its clients.For more information please visit https://www.postex.pk/
Contact Details
PostEx
Bilal Mahmood
+44 7714 007257
b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com
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