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Smart locker start-up Pakpobox to tap Latin American markets after latest funding round

Pakpobox, a smart lockers provider, has raised a strategic funding round of US$1.2m to fuel its expansion into Southeast Asia and Brazil.

 

Pakpobox, a Cyberport start-up, is specialised in optimizing deliveries such as parcels, laundry, groceries and food, through its smart delivery platform named “Alfred”. The company’s solutions are integrated with e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, ASOS and Boutir and logistics companies such as DHL, 4PX, Royale International and Buy&ship.today.

 

Pakpobox is also a leading supplier of smart locker solutions to postal organizations in Asia-Pacific, with clients like Hong Kong Post, Singapore Post, Australia Post, Pos Malaysia, Macau Post, Maldives Post and recently Cyprus Post.  Founded in 2013, the company has already built smart delivery networks in 12 countries in Asia-Pacific and Europe, covering more than 3,000 locations.

 

The latest funding round was led by Brazilian tech-logistics company, WFretes Tecnologia E Meios de Pagamento with investment from the SQ Capital Group, who invested in the previous round as well.

 

In addition to funding, Pakpobox and WFretes have signed an exclusive distributorship agreement to distribute Pakpobox smart lockers in Latin America and to set up a network of 2,000 smart lockers in Brazil under the newly launched smart delivery platform “Clique & Retire”, by 2023.

 

The companies also entered a strategic partnership with Metro Rio, the subway of Rio de Janeiro, and are in talks with the São Paulo Metro to build the country’s first smart locker networks along the subway stations of the two Brazilian cities, which are used by more than six million people every day.

 

Pakpobox sees immense opportunity in the Brazilian market as its “last-mile logistic infrastructure” is a hurdle for the country’s booming e-commerce sector, the fourth largest in the world. Many households do not have a delivery address or the address is not covered by courier companies, and security and privacy issues such as cargo robberies remain a significant concern. Pakpobox’s smart lockers therefore present an excellent solution to these problems.

 

Pakpobox’s next target is to build a delivery infrastructure that can handle one million packages a day, and to capture the opportunities presented by the global smart locker market that is projected to reach US$1.2 billion by 2023, according to Allied Market Research.