Indonesia’s logistics platform Shipper has raised USD 63 million in its Series B round led by DST Global partners and Sequoia Capital India. Other investors include Prosus Ventures, Floodgate, Lightspeed, Insignia Ventures, AC Ventures, and Y Combinator.
Founded in 2017, Shipper provides fulfillment and delivery services through its digitally managed network of fulfillment centers, delivery partners, and retail points to thousands of e-commerce businesses that sell millions of items each month. The firm will use the new capital to add new members to its team and expand its tech capabilities and logistics network.
In an interview with KrASIA last year, Shipper COO Budi Handoko said that the company has a presence in 70 cities in Indonesia, with around 2,500 logistics providers, 50 fulfillment centers, and 25,000 online sellers on its platform. The firm aims to grow the number of its fulfillments to 200 and its agent network to 10,000 by the end of 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated e-commerce adoption in Indonesia. The number of e-commerce customers in Indonesia rose to 66% after the pandemic hit, and the country implemented large-scale social restrictions, according to a report by DBS Asian Insights. Moreover, since 2019, around 90% of internet users in the country have made purchases through e-commerce platforms, showing consumers’ growing confidence in buying online.
As e-commerce matures, digital logistics platforms, especially those that offer last-mile delivery, are also seeing a surge in demand. In Indonesia, logistics startups have been seeing huge investment flow from big-name investors. In March, SiCepat Ekspress snagged USD 170 million in its Series B round from MDI Ventures. More recently, J&T Express reportedly raised over USD 2 billion to fuel its aggressive expansion in China.
Shipper’s Series B funding came less than a year after the startup raised USD 20 million in May 2020, and this fresh capital brings the company’s total incoming investments to over USD 88 million. Shipper’s new milestones demonstrate increasing investor interest in the Indonesian digital logistics platform. And as e-commerce continues to grow, Shipper might not be the only startup to receive a big chunk of capital this year.
