Postage raises Seed funding
KSA: Postage, a last-mile logistics provider for businesses that aims to shorten the wait times for express deliveries in Saudi Arabia, has raised a Seed investment from Wa’ed, the entrepreneurship arm of Aramco.
Postage guarantees same-day delivery for business goods between Riyadh and Dammam, a distance of 410 kilometers (250 miles), and a two-hour “bullet” service within the city of Riyadh.
The startup was founded in 2019 by Abdulrahman AlAfaliq who coined the idea for Postage while listening to friends talk about how long it took to receive their E-commerce purchases and as a finance major, began looking for ways to shorten delivery times. His first attempt which used freelance drivers already traveling the Riyadh-Al Khobar route to transport urgent deliveries for businesses proved impractical.
He eventually found success when he adapted his software logistics delivery platform to create Postage, which employs a mix of full-time drivers and Saudi freelancers. Postage also rents warehouses that serve as delivery and storage centers in Al Khobar and Riyadh.
Abdulrahman AlAfaliq, Founder of Postage said, “The Saudis are digitally savvy and used to expecting everything instantly. With Postage, we are closing gaps in the marketplace and delivering the velocity needed to fuel E-commerce across the nation. I am grateful to Wa’ed for supporting Postage, which is helping Saudi businesses keep pace with demand for shorter delivery times and rapid growth in online commerce.”
Postage delivers clothing, textiles, children’s toys, books, and other goods from more than 50 corporate clients, including some international companies, which are mainly engaged in E-commerce.
With the investment, Postage plans to enhance its IT infrastructure, marketing, recruitment, and inventory management, enable more partners through a shared economy model and expand delivery services to cities such as Jeddah, Qassim, and Abha.
