PAPS, A Senegalese Logistics And Delivery Company, Has Raised $4.5 Million Led By 4DX Ventures And Orange
PAPS, a Senegalese logistics and delivery company, has raised $4.5 million led by 4DX Ventures and Orange
Using logistics infrastructure such as UPS and FedEx, international corporations such as Amazon and Alibaba have been able to expand their operations. The situation is different in Africa, where a small number of third-party infrastructure providers are capable of providing a full range of logistical services to e-commerce businesses.
Senegal-based PAPS Logistics & Delivery, a logistics and delivery company, is working to close this regional gap by offering a variety of logistics services to its customers. Pre-Series A funding of $4.5 million has been completed by the company, which will be used to fund the expansion of its technology-enabled logistics solution throughout the Francophone region.
The round was led by 4DX Ventures, a pan-African venture capital firm, and regional telecommunications operator Orange, with participation from other investors. In addition to returning investors Uma Ventures and Saviu Ventures, new investors include Yamaha Motor, LoftyInc Capital (formerly Proparco), Google Ventures (formerly To.org), Kepple Ventures, and Enza Capital.
A business called PAPS was founded in 2016 by Bamba Lo with the goal of providing end-to-end logistics solutions to businesses that operate both offline and online.
Initially, PAPS relied on a consumer-to-consumer model of logistics to get things done. However, after noticing the infrequency and disorganization of the vast majority of requests, the organization quickly shifted gears. The space industry faced difficulties in accurately forecasting delivery flows, in contrast to the B2B model, which allows deliveries to be scheduled in advance.
Benefits SMEs can derived from this platform
Small and medium-sized businesses will benefit from the platform, which will assist them with all aspects of logistics, from storage and international transportation to last-mile delivery.
Also included are visibility features that allow merchants to track and monitor deliveries from the time of takeoff to the time of delivery at the destination. The platform also allows merchants to schedule deliveries, which is a convenient feature.
Lo, the company's chief executive, told TechCrunch in an interview that when the company first launched PAPS, the first thing they wanted to offer clients was visibility into their transactions. "They needed to know when the driver picked up their goods, where their goods were in transit, and when they arrived," Lo said in the interview. The infrastructure we are attempting to build is one that is capable of serving all B2B clients, from warehousing and dispatching to last-mile delivery," says the company.
Customers' goods and packages are stored in Senegalese warehouses, which are owned and operated by the Senegalese company. Aside from that, it has a fleet of vehicles including motorcycles, vans, cars, and trucks that it uses for logistics and delivery purposes both within and between cities. In addition, the logistics company maintains a relay network of hubs that are strategically located near its clients and serve as delivery points for its products.
Its chief executive stated that the organization's goal is to establish infrastructure and serve as an enabler for businesses that are currently unable to reach customers due to logistical challenges.
"We are filling a gap in the market that none of these large corporations wanted to fill, which is the domestic market," says the founder. There was no one else who addressed the domestic market other than PAPS, which is why we strive to provide quality and dependability," he continued.
PAPS has a diverse clientele, which includes those in the banking, telecommunications, and pharmaceutical industries, among others (Lo said that the company currently handles distribution for 70 percent of all pharmacies in Senegal).
In addition to major logistics companies such as DHL and FedEx, as well as consumer and business-focused e-commerce brands such as Jumia, Glovo, and Sokowatch, the company claims that PAPS is also used in Senegal and Ivory Coast.
Because of this, PAPS claims to be Senegal's largest last-mile fleet, having completed more than 10 million deliveries in two markets since its inception. Moreover, according to Lo, the company's delivery volume is increasing by 150 percent on an annual basis.
It is anticipated that the proceeds from this pre-Series A round will be used to strengthen the company's technology team, expand its physical infrastructure in order to onboard additional warehouses, hubs, and fleets, and broaden its offering to more African businesses.
In Conclusion
Walter Baddoo, co-founder and general partner at 4DX Ventures, expressed his excitement about the progress the Paps team has made thus far and their commitment to building a truly innovative logistics company in a statement. In order to modernize Africa's logistics infrastructure, we believe that technology has a critical role to play, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Bamba and the paps team as they enter the next phase of their growth."
