S’pore startup Ninja Van raises record sum for regional expansion

SINGAPORE — Homegrown logistics startup Ninja Van has raised a record amount — believed to be over US$85 million (S$111.5 million) — in its series C funding round.

The amount is among the highest series C funding raised by companies in the region, eclipsing the likes of ride-hailing firm Grab which reportedly raised US$65 million in 2014.

Including earlier rounds of funding, Ninja Van has received a total of more than US$115.5 million to date.

On Tuesday, the company announced that it has successfully concluded its Series C funding round but it did not disclose the amount raised. Nevertheless, Tech in Asia and Reuters reported that the company had raised more than US$85 million.

A startup embarks on series C funding when it is past its beginning, improvement and development stages, and is looking to build and scale-up fast. Investors are usually bigger players in the market, such as investment banks, private equity firms and hedge funds.

Among the investors for Ninja Van’s latest round of funding was Europe’s parcel provider DPD Group. Those who ploughed money in earlier included Japan’s corporate venture group YJ Capital, United Arab Emirate’s private equity investor The Abraaj Group, and early stage venture capital firm Monk’s Hill Ventures.

“With this vote of confidence from investors, (Ninja Van) is well positioned to cement itself as the preferred parcel delivery network to serve both domestic and global businesses in Southeast Asia,” the firm said.

Ninja Van said it plans to use the capital to fuel its growth in the region. Currently, it has a presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Its chief executive Lai Chang Wen, 30, said the money will go towards “further improving technology and operational capabilities to help Ninja Van continue our drive in offering hassle-free delivery solutions to businesses of all sizes”.

According to its media release, the company has more than 1,000 employees on its book across the region.

Venture capital database firm CB Insights said in a recent report that as of September last year, tech companies in Southeast Asia have pulled in US$6.5 billion in disclosed equity funding, which is more than twice the US$3.1 billion in 2016, and more than three times the US$1.7 billion raised in 2015.

The region is home to several unicorns including Grab and online gaming company Sea which are headquartered in Singapore, and Indonesian companies travel bookings site Traveloka and ride-hailing app Go-Jek.

Unicorns are startups valued at US$1 billion or more.

Last week, the Singapore Business Federation-led SME Committee urged the Government to make the country more attractive to startups and help them grow into unicorns, in order for the Republic to thrive in the digital economy.