Cairo-based e-commerce fulfillment startup, Mylerz eye three new markets in North Africa and looks to expand across Egypt over the next three months against the backdrop of the $9.6 million funding it has just secured.
The startup is also targeting the booming e-commerce market in East Africa with the long-term objective of becoming a pan-African shipping logistics provider — by leveraging the continent’s e-commerce market, which has grown at an 18% annual rate since 2014.
About Mylerz
Samer Gharaibeh founded Mylerz in November 2019, borrowing from his experience at Aramex, a UAE-based multinational logistics and fulfillment company, where he worked for 23 years, with his last role being head of Africa.
“Because of my experience at Aramex, I understand the regulations of different countries in Africa and know the right kind of partnerships to have to be successful. I’m using this knowledge and experience to make Mylerz the preferred pan-African logistics provider and e-commerce partner,” said Gharaibeh.
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Mylerz platform enables its partners to follow orders in transit, adjust delivery destinations or times, and generate business data such as consumer behavior and demographics.
The startup says it does same-day delivery for hundreds of its partners.
Gharaibeh revealed that Mylerz has 21 fulfillment centers and plans to open a 25,000 sq. meter hub, its biggest so far, to keep up with the growing demand for storage, order processing, and last-mile deliveries.
The fulfillment hubs, Gharaibeh said, are spread out to ensure that they are in close proximity to customers for faster deliveries. To date, Mylerz has delivered 2 million packages.
“We operate a decentralized system, and these hubs, which are close to our customers, help us to consolidate the packages and dispatch for deliveries fast enough to meet our promise of same-day delivery,” he said.
Mylerz also operates a fleet of over 350 eco-friendly vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG). The initial cost of these vehicles is higher when compared to conventional ones, but their lower fuel demand offsets this.
Growing Logistics Platform With Partners
Lorax Capital Partners, an Egypt-based private equity firm, led the Mylerz growth funding round, which also included Fawry, one of Egypt’s largest e-payment companies. Fawry, Mylerz’s payments partner, will join the company as it grows into Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, providing electronic payment and cash collection services.
“Our immediate plan is expanding across Egypt, opening new markets, and facilitating cross-border trade for our customers. We have the right partners to make this happen and grow our end-to-end logistics platform,” says Gharaibeh.
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“Fawry’s over 250,000 agents will help us deposit cash collected from buyers since cash on delivery is still the preferred payment method in Egypt. This will make our business less risky, and the reduced risk means that we can grow much faster,” he added.
Ashraf Sabry, CEO of Fawry, said the investment in Mylerz is part of its strategy “to build an integrated commerce ecosystem in Egypt and explore international expansion opportunities with strong partners like Mylerz and Lorax.”