ZeptoExpress announces undisclosed seven-digit investment from Ficus Venture Capital

• Funding to be used to grow management team, expand across region
• Ficus Venture to help mentor and grow ZeptoExpress with hands-on approach

MALAYSIAN on-demand delivery platform ZeptoExpress Bhd has announced its first venture capital (VC) funding for an undisclosed seven-digit sum from early Shariah-compliant venture fund Ficus Venture Capital.

“This investment is a vote of confidence by Ficus Venture Capital,” said Izzairi Yamin (pic), founder of ZeptoExpress which, since 2017, has been operating an on-demand service in the market as ZeptoBike.

[Ed: Para updated for clarity.] 

“We share the same belief that in a world increasingly disrupted by Covid-19, the ability to harness technology and to seamlessly integrate with current technology and infrastructure is critical.

“Through the investment and guidance of Ficus Venture Capital, we will be able to accelerate quicker and grow an effective management team and expend to other jurisdictions like Vietnam in the first instance. This investment is timely in our growth trajectory.”

Rina Neoh, managing director of Ficus Venture Capital Partner (pic), said that the technology developed by ZeptoExpress is “definitely scalable” and is proven in Malaysia.

“We expect that with our investment and guidance, ZeptoExpress will grow steadily over the next two years and ride the challenges and harness the opportunities caused by Covid-19,” she said in a statement.

“The post pandemic world will be different from the world we live in today, and we feel that ZeptoExpress Berhad is poised to ride the post-pandemic wave.”

ZeptoExpress provides end-to-end solutions for businesses that includes warehousing and fulfilment, last-mile delivery, import and export services, and freight forwarding.

Ficus Venture Capital is touted as the first Shariah-compliant VC management company in the region.

The firm focuses on long term growth investments and supports early staged technology startups in Asean countries, targeting sectors such as logistics, greentech, big data, artificial intelligence, edutech, healthtech, fintech, augmented and/ or virtual reality, and cloud services.

Gopi Ganesalingam, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)’s vice president of the digitally-powered businesses division, said: “Malaysia is the leader in the Global Islamic Economy Indicator (GIEI) for the eighth consecutive year.

“This will not have been possible without the strong efforts and commitment by ecosystem players such as ZeptoExpress and Ficus Venture Capital, which are both pioneers in Islamic Digital Economy (IDE).”

He added that MDEC will continue to work with regulators and industry partners from all relevant areas to further enhance MDEC's capabilities, capacities and facilities.