Quiqup raises £20m and continues to pioneer the future of retail logistics

Here’s what they said

Investment led by JOBI Capital will fuel British tech startup’s growth and expansion to transform on-demand delivery for businesses and consumers.  

Quiqup, the London-based start-up that offers on-demand logistics services to consumers and retailers of all sizes and across industries, today announces a £20m Series B funding round led by JOBI Capital, a New York based fund, with participation from Transmed, a leading FMCG distributor in the Levant, Gulf and Africa, and existing investors.

Since launching, Quiqup has experienced 170 per cent growth year-on-year and delivered over 550,000 orders. The company now has a headcount of over 110 employees and over 2,000 self-employed couriers or Quiqees have signed up since the company’s inception.

Quiqup’s overarching vision is to create shared value for both business partners and consumers. The landscape in which businesses operate today has changed, with consumers increasingly expecting speed and convenience as standard. Bricks-and-mortar businesses that do not have the resources, networks or know-how to adapt have suffered at the hands of native e-commerce retailers; Quiqup offers them a solution.

Quiqup provides flexible on-demand delivery services to businesses of all sizes, as well as to individuals, by using state-of-the-art technology to make last-mile delivery faster, more efficient and more affordable than ever before. These include:

Unlike most on-demand delivery services, Quiqup’s services are not tied to a specific retail vertical or size of partner. The company works with a variety of retailers, both large and small, ranging from big-name brands like Whole Foods and Burger King to independent florists, pharmacists and grocers across London.

For small businesses, Quiqup levels the playing field with large e-commerce players by providing infrastructure that helps them expand their offering to include delivery and be more competitive. Large businesses can quickly and easily offer on-demand delivery by seamlessly integrating Quiqup’s last-mile logistics solutions into their existing e-commerce platform.

Furthermore, its efficient last-mile channel allows businesses to leverage their local real estate more effectively by delivering goods directly to consumers from display shelves as opposed to from large warehouses outside the city. For consumers, Quiqup’s service allows them to enjoy buying from and supporting local businesses with the convenience of online on-demand delivery. 

Bilal Mekkaoui, managing partner at JOBI Capital, who will be joining the board as part of the investment, said: “Quiqup has developed an exceptional portfolio of on-demand delivery products, and has already implemented its last-mile logistics offering very successfully across a wide range of retail sectors. We see the last-mile delivery space as having huge market potential not just in the UK but globally, and have been impressed with how quickly Quiqup has established itself as a leading player in the sector.”

Today’s funding will be used to fulfil Quiqup’s vision. The company will focus on expanding its algorithmic capabilities to provide better estimates and anticipate demand patterns. It will also strengthen its operations by developing better routing and dispatching capabilities, and its services by creating additional products to cater to a wider range of retailers. Currently operating across London, the company plans to launch in a number of additional major UK cities in 2017, and kick-start its international expansion.

Bassel El Koussa, Quiqup’s CEO and co-founder said: “As consumer expectations change, retailers of all sizes and verticals will be expected to offer flexible, efficient, and affordable delivery services. Time is a precious commodity for today’s consumer and Quiqup was created to help people make more time for what they enjoy most. Today’s investment brings us one step closer to our goal of bringing on-demand delivery to the mass market, and we’re thrilled to have JOBI and Transmed join us on this venture, as well as to have the continued support of our existing investors.”

Initially developed as a consumer app for custom pickups, Quiqup was inspired by the ‘deliver anything’ concept. Recognising the huge market opportunity in working with small-and-enterprise-level retailers as well, Quiqup quickly evolved its offering to cater to this rapidly-changing landscape.