Egypt’s Mylerz raises $9.6M for its e-commerce fulfillment service, eyes Africa-wide growth

Mylerz, a Cairo-based e-commerce fulfillment startup, plans to enter three new markets in North Africa and expand across Egypt over the next three months against the backdrop of the $9.6 million funding it has just secured.

The startup also has its eyes on the growing e-commerce market in East Africa, with the long-term goal of growing into a pan-African shipping logistics provider – by tapping the e-commerce market in Africa, which has experienced 18% annual growth since 2014.

Mylerz growth funding round was led by Lorax Capital Partners, an Egypt-based private equity firm with participation from Fawry, one of the biggest e-payment companies in Egypt. As Mylerz expands to Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, Fawry, its payments partner, will come along to provide 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 to grow our end-to-end logistics platform,” Mylerz Founder and CEO, Samer Gharaibeh, told TechCrunch.

“Fawry’s over 250,000 agents will help us deposit cash collected from buyers since cash on delivery is still the preferred method of payment in Egypt. This will make our business less risky, and the reduced risk means that we can grow much faster,” said Gharaibeh.

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.”

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 experiences to make Mylerz the preferred pan-African logistics provider and e-commerce partner,” said Gharaibeh.

The Mylerz platform allows its partners to track the orders sent out for delivery, change destination or delivery time, and generate business insights like consumer behavior and demographics.

The startup says it provides same-day deliveries on behalf of hundreds of its partners.

Gharaibeh told TechCrunch that Mylerz has 21 fulfillments centers and plans to open a 25,000 sqm 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 this is off-set by their less fuel demand.

Ashraf Zaki, Managing Partner at Lorax Capital Partners, said, “ Mylerz has leveraged its know-how and premium technology offering to address several problems associated with last-mile delivery in Egypt including complex routes, the prevalence of cash, and diverse merchants with diverse needs. Lorax is backing Mylerz to become the continent’s first fully integrated e-commerce logistics player, bringing a unique blend of premium customer service and efficient delivery services to regional businesses and consumers alike.”