Late last year, courier app Fetchr had to consider selling the business of filing for bankruptcy due to a ‘rapidly diminishing’ financial performance.
Fetchr secured at least $15M in fresh funding to expand in Saudi Arabia as part of a turnaround plan that saved the Dubai-based courier app from collapse.
The latest financing round, which still needs shareholders’ approval, could see pledges increase to as much as $25M, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. The commitments are being made by venture capital firm BECO Capital, Saudi Arabia’s Tamer Group and French shipping company CMA CGM SA, the documents show.
Fetchr, once one of the rising stars of the Middle East’s nascent startup scene, was valued at almost $300M in a 2017 fund-raising round. Silicon Valley investors such as New Enterprise Associates, Nokia Oyj’s venture capital arm and Winklevoss Capital were among its backers.
Fetchr’s turnaround is overseen by prominent businessmen such as Iyad Malas, the former chief executive officer of Majid Al Futtaim, Gate Capital founder Munther Hilal and Hussein Hachem, who led logistics firm Aramex for five years.
