Kwik, a provider of logistics services to B2B merchants, has raised $2 million in Series A funding, BizCrast.com reported Thursday (March 24).
The Nigerian and French-based startup said it will the use the latest infusion of cash to fund customer acquisition, finance expanded operations in Nigeria and increase the number of merchants on its network to 800,000 by the close of the year.
“We aim to become the premier app choice for African social sellers and traditional merchants going digital,” said Founder and CEO Romain Poirot-Lelig in the report. “Seamlessly integrating delivery, payment and eCommerce tools into one easy-to-use mobile app is an attractive proposition. This financing round will enable us to expand across all three key verticals and select geographies.”
XBTO Ventures, a cryptocurrency finance company with a venture capital arm that invests in digital assets and other startups, led the round. Existing investors also participated, including Attack Ventures, Nabuboto, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot and Pulse Africa founder Leonard Steigler.
Kwik competes in the logistics and delivery space. Its last-mile delivery service connects businesses of all sizes to independent delivery drivers to move their products to businesses and consumers.
In an interview with PYMNTS this week, Andrew Travis, chief operating officer at Onfleet, said last-mile delivery is complicated and expensive, especially when it involves direct-to-consumer (D2C) deliveries.
Read more: Last-Mile Delivery Providers Employ Technology to Manage Fuel Costs
This means going to different places daily, often receiving bad information from consumers about their location, where to put the package and finding and retaining delivery drivers at a time when the market is very competitive.
“It’s the complexity of the delivery itself and the reality that you’re orchestrating multiple parties at the same time,” he said. “So, it’s hard.”
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