[Funding alert] Gurugram startup Ecom Express expands to Bangladesh; invests $11M in Paperfly

Gurugram-headquartered logistics solutions provider Ecom Express on Tuesday said it has invested $11 million (about Rs 80.6 crore) in Bangladesh's largest third-party ecommerce logistics (3PL) firm Paperfly.

Through this investment, Ecom Express is foraying into the Bangladesh market, marking its maiden venture outside India, the startup said in a statement.

"With more than 167 million inhabitants and over 90 million internet users, the ecommerce industry in Bangladesh is emerging and has become one of the fastest-growing markets in the region. The increasing per-capita disposable income has fueled higher consumption from expanding middle classes," it added.

Founded in 2016 by Shahriar Hasan, Md Razibul Islam, Rahath Ahmed, and Shamsuddin Ahmed, Paperfly is the first homegrown technology-enabled logistics startup in Bangladesh.

"The investments will be used by Paperfly towards the transformation of logistics through intelligence-driven automation and data sciences that would enable the startup to meet the fast-growing demand for quality ecommerce logistics services in Bangladesh," the statement said.

This will further accelerate the startup's implementation of advanced supply chain and logistics processes, agile solutions in delivery and warehouse management, and other operational facets in the logistics and supply chain, it added.

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TA Krishnan, CEO and Co-founder of Ecom Express, said the startup sees a lot of growth opportunities in adjacent markets, and the current investment is one of the many things in the pipeline.

"We looked at multiple aspects before identifying Bangladesh for our first international venture. The market draws a parallel with India in terms of growth and demography, and we want to leverage our experience and domain expertise to enable high-scalability growth and build a strategic backbone of ecommerce logistics in Bangladesh," he said.

Founded in 2012, Ecom Express works with ecommerce companies, including Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm, and Udaan to provide express delivery and fulfilment services. It also works with telcos, banking, and financial services players for e-KYC and document collection. 

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)