Malaysian cross-border e-commerce and logistics solution provider Epost has bagged USD 700,000 in a seed funding round led by Vynn Capital, according to a statement by the company.
The startup will use the fresh investment to further expand its business operations in Southeast Asia, namely to strengthen marketing efforts and expand its team, Epost said.
The startup was founded in 2018 by Tobin Ng in the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo. Epost provides consumers and businesses with end-to-end logistics services, helping traditional businesses such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expand their e-commerce businesses.
Epost’s services cover domestic and international logistics. The company has business operations across Malaysia, China, Singapore, Vietnam, and Brunei, with 13 e-fulfillment warehouses in key locations throughout the region.
More than half of the company’s orders originate from China, to be delivered to Southeast Asian markets. According to the company, this demonstrates the high demand by Chinese vendors for convenient cross-border e-commerce and logistics solutions. Similarly, there is increasing demand by Southeast Asian customers who want practical fulfillment solutions.
On average, Epost’s sales increased by 30% each month in 2019, Ng told KrASIA.
“In Southeast Asia, the e-commerce logistics industry has plenty of room for growth, especially in services that enable connectivity across national borders. We hope to transform the industry and create more value to all stakeholders with Epost’s solutions and technology,” said company co-founder and CEO Tobin Ng.
Vynn Capital managing partner Victor Chua also believes that there is potential for cross-border e-commerce as it creates greater activities between markets. It also enables smaller merchants and individual consumers to tap into new revenue streams and better services. “This fits into our view that eventually there will be convergence—between markets, industries, and sectors—leading up to a better ecosystem for each economy in the region,” he said.
According to the company’s website, Epost will soon expand into other Southeast Asian markets. “This year, we are mainly focusing on expanding to Vietnam and the Philippines. We recently launched services in the Philippines, and we aim to launch operations in Vietnam in the second quarter of 2020,” Ng said.