LatAm Logistics Firm 99minutos Raises $82M

Mexican eCommerce logistics company 99minutos has raised $82 million in a Series C funding round, the company said in a news release Wednesday (March 2).

The round, led by OAK HC/FT, along with existing investors Kaszek and Prosus Ventures, will allow the company to scale new business models, expand further into Latin America and invest in new sustainability measures in keeping with 99minutos’ low-carbon goals.

The company pointed out that the market size of Latin America’s retail eCommerce space is projected to grow to $160 billion by 2025, almost double the size from last year.

Learn more: eCommerce in Latin America Showing Hypergrowth

As PYMNTS reported in February, a recent study by global payments solutions provider EBANX said eCommerce sales in Latin America would maintain a yearly growth rate of 30% until 2025, which makes the region’s eCommerce sector a hypergrowth market.

Juliana Etcheverry, who oversees Latin American expansion and strategic alliances for EBANX, said recently this growth has caused companies from already-saturated eCommerce markets, such as China and the U.S., to look to Latin America with new interest.

“This incredible acceleration requires logistics infrastructure to scale accordingly, in addition to the need for specialized services across the entire supply chain,” 99minutos said.

To address these needs, 99minutos said it will continue to expand its core last-mile delivery business, as well as its suite of services for eCommerce logistics.

These new offerings include Punto 99, a new Pickup/Dropoff network. The company will also roll out new services to cover the entire fulfillment process, including storage, picking and packing. It also plans to launch a route tracking and optimization Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution.

This Series C will also further the company’s positive environmental impact, including investments to increase the use of electric vehicles and other sustainable practices.

“The quality and depth of the technology we have developed in the past year, coupled with the new talent we have brought on board, has enabled us to scale our operations, become more efficient and prepare us for more structured growth,” said Alexis Patjane, CEO of 99minutos.