ⓘ Featured image details: Rita Huang, founder & CEO of iMile; Credits: Chris Whiteoak / The National
▸ The company will utilise the funds to improve technology, customer experience and hire new talent
▸ iMile is planning to expand to Egypt, Morocco, and Kuwait
Dubai-based last-mile delivery startup iMile on 1st January raised $10 million in a Pre-Series A funding round led by a China-based venture capital firm, as reported by The National. The name of the venture capital firm has not been disclosed yet.
The founder & CEO of iMile, Rita Huang told The National that the funds will be utilised to open a new research & development centre in either of UAE and KSA; and expand its services across the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), starting with Egypt, Morocco, and Kuwait.
“Improving iMile’s tech prowess, customer experience and hiring new talent are our top priorities in the coming months,” said Huang to The National
“Our aim is to develop local solutions and technology to address regional needs. An indigenous R&D centre would also promote knowledge and capacity building in the region,” Huang added
What is last-mile delivery?
Last-mile delivery in simple words is the movement of goods from a transportation hub to the final destination as fast as possible. The logistics sector at present is seeing a skyrocketing demand for last-mile delivery services. According to Brandessence Market Research, the global last-mile delivery market is expected to reach $61.57 billion in the next five years, from $31.19 billion in 2018.
About iMile
Started in 2017 by Rita Huang, the former CTO of Alibaba-Meraas cloud computing joint venture, Dubai, and also the former country manager for Huawei, UAE; iMile is a logistics startup that works on both B2B and B2C segments to enable Chinese merchants to sell on platforms like Noon and Amazon.
The company also offer warehouses in UAE and Saudi Arabia to the Chinese merchants for order fulfilment. iMile is currently operational in UAE and Saudi Arabia and operates two research & development centres in Shenzhen and Hangzhou, China.
iMile runs through 700 employees across UAE, Saudia Arabia and China. The company last year recorded 10 times year-on-year growth in new bookings. The company has a strong clientele that includes Amazon, Noon, Mumzworld, Shein, and Club Factory among others.
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