HONG KONG-BASED on-demand delivery provider Lalamove is all set to widen its footprint in Asia, including the Philippines, as it raised $30 million (P1.48 billion) from the just-completed Series B Financing round.
Beijing VC firm Xianghe Capital led this investment initiative, with participation from Blackhole Capital and existing shareholders MindWorks Ventures and Crystal Stream.
It surpasses the previous three rounds of financing, bringing Lalamove’s total funding to $60 million (P2.97 billion).
With the investment, the startup will continue to expand in the region, where it plans to launch in 60 more cities in Asia, including Manila, by the end of this year.
Lalamove founder and CEO Shing Chow said logistics is a big market—a $1.7-trillion market in China. It accounts for up to 27 percent of GDP for some Southeast Asian nations.
Since it is underpenetrated by mobile Internet, Lalamove is on the right track to deliver the market’s requirement as it already has maintained the biggest service area in Asia for intracity delivery, where its app connects users with more than 500,000 delivery drivers.
“Our users have said they want faster and simpler ways to send things in their cities, and we have proven that we can help them deliver anything in less than an hour,” the executive said.
“The evolution of the logistics industry has not been as rapid as some other markets, like communications, but we believe we are at a tipping point where transformation will now happen very rapidly. We will see some amazing companies built in this sector,” Chow said.
Currently, Lalamove operates in 45 cities across China and Southeast Asia.
“Soon, the Lalamove app and services will be in all first- and second-tier cities and a number of economically viable third-tier cities in China, as well as major cities in Southeast Asia, allowing hundreds of millions of new users to experience the fastest delivery in the world,” he said.
Bullish on the country’s continuous economic growth, Manila is considered the best choice for the company’s latest expansion of Lalamove in Southeast Asia.
“This funding will definitely help fuel the aggressive expansion plans we have for the Philippines,” said Albert Go, country director of Lalamove Philippines. “We aim to establish a dominant presence in on-demand deliveries similar to the rest of Southeast Asia.”