FedEx Investing $100M In India’s Delhivery To Expand International Shipping

FedEx Corp subsidiary FedEx Express announced Friday (July 16) it had formed agreements with India’s Delhivery that will see the shipping giant make a $100 million investment in the logistics and supply chain services firm.

“India is a strategic priority for FedEx,” FedEx Corp President and Chief Operating Officer Raj Subramaniam said in a statement. “This strategic alliance will support our long-term vision to grow our India business and serve customers seeking to expand in or enter the Indian market, as well as provide opportunities to develop product and technology solutions together with Delhivery for the benefit of our customers.”

FedEx says the deal combines its global network with Delhivery’s “extensive pan-India network and technology solutions to bring the best of both worlds together.”

In addition to the equity investment, the two companies will enter into a long-term commercial agreement. FedEx Express will focus on international exports and imports to and from India, while Delhivery will sell FedEx Express international products and services in the Indian market.

Delhivery will also provide delivery and pickup services throughout India, with FedEx transferring some of its domestic business assets to Delhivery.

Don Colleran, president and CEO of FedEx Express, will be nominated to join the Delhivery Board of Directors “as a further sign of collaboration between the two companies,” the announcement said.

Friday’s announcement comes less than two months after FedEx launched a program to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) create or expand eCommerce programs following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Formed in partnership with the Accion Opportunity Fund, the FedE E-Commerce Learning lab is geared towards diverse SMBs, with a focus on women and entrepreneurs of color, whose businesses were typically hit harder by the pandemic.

In addition to technical guidance and training in things like marketing, customer support and managing fulfillment, participants in the program also receive a $2,000 grant and a series of seminars on eCommerce topics. The aim is to connect SMB owners with an eCommerce market that blossomed by 33 percent in 2020.