Australia carbon neutral courier raises $35m Series C
Sendle, an Australia-based package delivery provider for small businesses that claims to be 100% carbon neutral, has raised a $35 million Series C round led by local investor AP Ventures.
AP, a retail innovation specialist 44% controlled by Australia-listed financial technology provider Afterpay, typically deploys at least $10 million per investment. It was joined by existing backers Federation Asset Management, Full Circle Venture Capital, and NRMA Insurance Group.
Federation, Full Circle, and NRMA invested as recently as August last year, when they joined a A$19 million ($14.4 million) round alongside King River Capital, Marinya Capital, Rampersand, and Alberts Impact Capital. Federation, which is headed by former members of Macquarie Capital’s Australia team, led a A$20 million Series B in 2019. Total funding comes to more than $63 million.
Sendle has a significant presence in the US, where it maintains an office in Seattle and claims to be the first carrier specifically designed to serve the needs of small e-commerce businesses. Provisions for this segment include affordable flat-rate shipping services with no subscription or warehousing required, as well as a simplified doorstep pick-up and drop-off process.
Package volumes in the US increased tenfold during 2020 on the back of pandemic-related e-commerce momentum. Sendle notes that as orders have increased industry-wide in the US, traditional carriers including UPS and FedEx have continually increased their rates, squeezing small businesses with limited resources. It will use the Series C capital to build out its network in the country.
“Package delivery is the backbone of today’s e-commerce ecosystem,” Hein Vogel, CEO of AP, said in a statement. “As ever more people shop and sell online, small business shipping will only grow in importance. For small sellers, it’s a critical part of being able to compete on a level playing field.”
Sendle has about 800,000 users globally and leverages partnerships with the likes of eBay, Shopify, Estsy, Gumtree, and Carousell. The company has made minimizing its environmental footprint a key feature in the offering, noting that the logistics related to online shopping accounts for 10% of carbon dioxide emissions globally. Its credentials in this area include B Corporation certification.
More on Australasia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.