The government of Dubai has launched an e-commerce ecosystem in its DMCC Free Zone. The initiative aims to foster e-commerce in the region by providing easy access to workspaces, order fulfillment services, and delivery options. More: - E-commerce in the Middle East and North Africa region is currently valued at $32B.
- The sector is expected to grow to $50B in 2025.
- Currently, DMCC houses Deliveroo, Instashop, and Cafu, key e-commerce companies in the region.
- The Ecosystem will be supported by The Box, the Middle East's largest self-storage provider, which will provide storage solutions.
- The Box and the DMCC will also offer an accelerator program to support e-commerce entrepreneurs.
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SoftBank-backed Clearco, formerly known as Clerbanc, saw its CEO, Michele Romanow, resign amid staff layoffs. The company provides capital to e-commerce retailers in exchange for future revenue. More: - Clearco has raised $1B mainly from Y Combinator, SoftBank Vision Fund, and Silicon Valley Bank.
- However, the increase in interest rates has forced the company to lay off 25% of its staff.
- People familiar with the matter have even claimed that Clearco has held talks with investors about a potential sale of the company.
- Romanow will become co-executive chairman, and the new CEO will be Andrew Curtis, who has previously helped Clearco raise capital.
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Locad, an Asian startup that connects third-party warehouses and shipping carriers with a cloud-based platform, raised $11M in Series A funding. The funding round was led by Reefknot Investments and included Sequoia India and Febe Ventures as returning investors. More: - Locad supports businesses throughout all delivery stages, from inventory storage to shipping.
- They currently work with 200 brands, including Havaians and Levi’s Reckitt Benckisder.
- The startup focuses on Southeast Asia and Australia.
- Locad has reached a 99% same-day order fulfillment rate.
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Ottonomy.IO launched what it claims is the first autonomous delivery robot capable of unattended deliveries for first-mile, last-mile, and locker integration. The robot is also planned to eventually handle returns as well. More: - Throughout 2022, the company conducted autonomous deliveries across various terrains and in varying inclement weather conditions.
- The pilots included gathering feedback from airports, retailers, and postal services on delivery congestions and their causes.
- Ottonomy.IO also plans to include restaurants in their delivery robots operations.
- The startup aims with its product to address staffing shortages in the retail and restaurant sectors.
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Celerant, an enterprise retail software provider, has begun integrating mobile shopping apps with its platform. Celerant will now offer mobile points-of-sales, in-store kiosks, e-commerce, online marketplace integrations, and back-office software. More: - The company's back-office software will include solutions for products and pricing, inventory/warehouse management, and automated fulfillment.
- Shopping apps will enable retailers to use Celerant software to offer omnichannel fulfillment options such as same-day curbside and buy-online-pickup-in-store pickup.
- The apps can also send personalized notifications to customers' phones based on triggers such as past purchases and abandoned carts.
- The upgrades were showcased at the National Retail Federation 2023 "Big Show" Conference.
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EBay expanded its partnership with HUBBED to give customers a wider network of return locations for their purchases in Australia. Currently, HUBBED powers eBay's Click & Pick, which offers 24/7 extended-hours retail locations for parcel pick-up. More: - HUBBED recently acquired Parcelpoint and became the country's largest alternative delivery option.
- HUBBED now offers 3,000 local delivery, pick-up, drop-off, and returns locations.
- The logistics company works with local and global carriers, such as CouriersPlease and DHL.
- The partnership was deepened as Christmas shopping returns have surged during January.
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- Italy's government fined YNAP, an online fashion retailer, for $5.69M over misleading pricing and blocking customers that do a certain number of online returns.
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 |  | Martin Ruiz-Cantu is a writer focused on tech and social impact. He has a BA in International Relations from El Colegio de Mexico and a MS in Foreign Service, Global Business and Finance from Georgetown University. He has worked at HSBC, the World Bank and for one of the Big 3/MBB consulting firms. He enjoys historical podcasts and learning languages. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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