PAPS raises $4.5M in a pre-Series A investment.
The logistics and delivery company located in Senegal is addressing this void in the region by providing consumers with a variety of logistics services.
The company announced today that it has raised $4.5 million in a pre-Series A round of funding to develop its tech-enabled logistics solution throughout the Francophone area.
4DX Ventures, a pan-African venture capital fund, and Orange, a regional telecom operator, lead the investment.
Existing investors Uma Ventures and Saviu Ventures are among the participants. Others include new investors; Yamaha Motor, LoftyInc Capital, Proparco, Google Ventures, To.org, Kepple Ventures, and Enza Capital.
PAPS was founded in 2016 by Bamba Lo, the CEO, to provide end-to-end logistics solutions to businesses with both physical and online operations.
PAPS began with a consumer-to-consumer logistics concept.
However, after noting how sporadic and unstructured most requests were, it quickly shifted.
In contrast to the B2B paradigm, where deliveries are planned, it was difficult to accurately estimate the delivery flows in the space.
Small and large organizations can use the platform to help them with their logistical needs, which range from storage to international transportation to last-mile delivery.
PAPS also gives merchants with visibility tools that allow them to follow and know the status of deliveries from departure to arrival. On the platform, merchants can also arrange delivery.
The warehouses where clients’ goods and parcels are stored are owned by the Senegalese firm.
Motorcycles, vans, vehicles, and trucks are also owned by the company for inter and intra-city logistics and deliveries. In addition, the logistics firm maintains a relay network of hubs near its customers that serve as delivery sites.
PAPS, according to its CEO, intends to provide that infrastructure and an enabler for businesses to reach clients they can’t reach now due to logistics.
“The gap that we’re filling is the domestic market, which none of these huge multinationals want to handle.”
“PAPS is the only company that has addressed the home market, which is why we aim to provide quality and dependability,” he added.
PAPS has clients across a wide range of industries, including banking, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals (Lo said that the company currently handles distribution for 70 percent of all pharmacies in Senegal).
PAPS is used by major logistics companies like DHL and FedEx, as well as consumer and business-focused e-commerce enterprises like Jumia, Glovo, and Sokowatch in Senegal and Ivory Coast, according to the company.
The company claims to have the largest last-mile fleet in Senegal, having made over 10 million deliveries across its two markets since its inception, according to a statement. Lo claims that the company’s delivery figures are up 150 percent year over year.
This pre-Series A round will be used to grow the company’s tech staff, expand its physical infrastructure to onboard more warehouses, hubs, and fleets, and expand its offering to more African businesses.
“We have been impressed with the Paps team’s performance thus far and their dedication to establishing a truly creative firm in the logistics industry,” Walter Baddoo, co-founder and general partner at 4DX Ventures, said in a statement.
We believe that technology can help modernize Africa’s logistics system, and we look forward to working with Bamba and the paps team on the next phase of their development.”
