If you live in India, the Philippines, Russia, or Vietnam, Amazon Prime and Gorillas will most likely be of little service to you. Dostavista is a “crowdsourced” same-day delivery service similar to DoorDash Drive or Lalamove (Malaysia). Founded in Russia, the company first tried to appeal to gig economy employees in nations like the ones mentioned above by designing a game in which participants were asked to transport virtual things before moving on to the real thing. Because of this out-of-the-box thinking, it has expanded to nations that aren’t generally served by larger delivery firms.
The Amsterdam-based HQ-d startup is rebranding as “Borzo” to unify its operations across ten countries. Simultaneously, it has raised $35 million in a Series C fundraising round led by Mubadala, a UAE-based investor. VNV Global, RDIF, Flashpoint Venture Capital, and others were also present.
The pandemic accelerated the demand for economic, same-day delivery of commodities, and this was true in both poor and industrialized countries.
Borzo, which was founded in 2012, claims to have 2 million customers and 2.5 million couriers in 10 countries, including Brazil, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey, and Vietnam. It promises to be able to fulfill over 3 million orders per month, with an annual gross revenue run rate of around $150 million, according to the company.
“The true fundamental shift in eCommerce took occurred with the rising reliability and ease of on-demand delivery services,” said Faris Al Mazrui, Mubadala’s director of Russia and CIS.
We found a team at Borzo that has a strong perspective of the opportunities in the rapidly developing on-demand delivery industry. They’ve made it to the world stage, competing in ten new international markets.”
Borzo’s $15 million Series B investment was led by Vostok New Ventures, with existing investors Flashpoint and AddVenture joining in.
Borzo, which was founded in 2012, claims to have 2 million customers and 2.5 million couriers in 10 countries, including Brazil, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey, and Vietnam. It promises to be able to fulfill over 3 million orders per month, with an annual gross revenue run rate of around $150 million, according to the company. Borzo’s $15 million Series B investment was led by Vostok New Ventures, with existing investors Flashpoint and AddVenture joining in.
