Cape Town-based click-and-collect and returns solution company Pargo has entered Egypt following intense growth in South Africa.
Founded in 2015, Pargo seeks to solve the challenges of last-mile logistics through its smart logistics platform and fulfilment solutions, which are anchored by a nationwide network of Pargo pickup points.
Pargo’s co-founder, Lars Veul, told ITWeb: “We have recently launched operations in Cairo and the plan is to have the same business model there as we do in South Africa – where we partner with the e-commerce players and couriers.
“If the pilot goes well, we intend to fully establish operations there. We did a lot of research on the continent and we found that the e-commerce and courier landscape in Egypt is very similar to that of South Africa. They also have the same challenges of efficient last-mile delivery and this is where our opportunity lies.”
Mr Veul highlighted that the initial goal in Cairo is to pilot with between 10 and 25 e-commerce companies in the African city, integrating its customisable API with their online shopping platforms.
If successful, the company intends to further expand its operations in the country.
“There are quite a lot of steps involved in getting a parcel from the warehouse to the customer’s hands,” said Mr Veul.
“Our in-house tech team builds innovative dashboards to ensure we are 100 per cent in control of what’s happening, and we track the parcels all the way, and deliver a good service. Technology is central to this.”
Since its inception, Pargo has amassed more than 500 e-commerce clients that use its technology, including Edgars, Faithful to Nature, Rain, TFG, Cape Union Mart, Clicks and HomeChoice.
According to a report by global cultural agency CRTKL, the demand for last-mile delivery is increasing across the GCC.
