Page 12 - bne_Tech_09_2019

Investment
September 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 12
Dostavista, the leading crowdsourced same-day delivery service, secures $15mn in series B funding
Dostavista, Russia’s leading crowd-sourced same-day delivery service operating globally, has raised $15m in a Series B funding round led by Vostok New Ventures, as well as other existing investors Flashpoint and Addventure, the company said in a press release.
Founded in 2012, Dostavista is already profitable and will use the funding to continue to focus on product, new bold experiments, more aggressive marketing and sales, and strengthening their global team to make it all happen.
Dostavista’s success will help promote same-
day delivery as a dominant delivery option, as
the company’s annual GMV run rate is currently approaching the $100mn milestone. Dostavista employs almost 400 people with offices and operations in 11 countries including Brazil,
India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. The company deploys over one million registered couriers globally and its customers range from individuals to Fortune 500 organizations.
All customers need to do is request a delivery on the Dostavista website or via the mobile app and a trusted courier will pick up and deliver the requested item in less than 90 minutes. It looks simple, but behind the scenes Dostavista applies its highly advanced algorithms to enable affordable, fast, precise delivery for the mass market. Customers enjoy tremendous convenience, while sellers have the advantage
of shipping products in extremely short time, via any route, transport, weight or size. Couriers can even collect the cash payment for these sellers. Overall, the service offers a drastically better experience for all parties involved at a competitive price, the company said in its statement.
“These days it’s possible to order food to your house in a half-hour, taxi in minutes, but unless you’re an Amazon Prime member, your options for affordable, same-day delivery of goods are very limited,” says Mike Alexandrovski, founder of Dostavista. “That’s a problem and one we intend to solve.”
“We are very happy to be investors in Dostavista, which embodies a beautiful mix of a strong proven entrepreneur, a great team, and a great tech pro- ducing a world class product into the truly huge global market of last mile delivery,” says Per Brili- oth, Managing Director of Vostok New Ventures.
Dostavista was founded by Mike Alexandrovski, who wanted to create a mobile game where people could pick up virtual items and carry them across the city for some reward. Long before launching the game, he realized that he had no idea how to monetize it. So, he took a bold plunge and pivoted toward letting people deliver real packages. That’s how Dostavista’s crowd-sourced same-day delivery service was born.
“Over the years we observed how our on-demand delivery changes people’s habits and frees up