UAE-based Fetchr recently announced the launch of their app that gives both the community and businesses the ability to send or receive anything, anywhere, using the GPS coordinates of a personal phone.
Fetchr’s proprietary technology offers an intuitive solution to parcel pickup and drop in a region where address systems can be difficult to navigate. It uses a patented technology to schedule pickup and delivery using mobile phone GPS coordinates. The app complements Dubai’s recently launched Geo Address System, and enables peer-to-peer transactions while also facilitating business needs.
Customers wanting to send a package simply use their phone to snap a picture of the item and choose a pickup time of their convenience. A driver is dispatched at the scheduled time to the phone’s location, and can be tracked in real time.
The process is equally intuitive on the recipient side. Customers are notified that they have a delivery via the app. They choose a delivery time, and the package is brought right to their GPS location. Once the parcel is safely delivered, the sender receives a notification.
“Consumers use their phones to shop for just about everything,” says Fetchr’s co-founder, Idriss Al Rifai. “With our app, you can now use your phone to ship anything, anywhere. We aim to change the behaviour in which people send and receive packages.”
Fetchr is a first of its kind app for the Middle East region, and also the first Silicon Valley funded app to be launched in MENA. Fetchr has successfully raised $11 million in Series A funding, led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), the largest venture fund in the world. The milestone represents the largest US based venture funds investment in the Middle East for a Series A round.
“Last mile delivery is one of the greatest reasons why e-commerce has not reached its full potential in the Middle East. Our mission is to empower delivery through technology and we are thrilled that NEA shares our vision for overcoming the major logistical challenges that exist for deliveries in emerging markets, as well as ushering in a new era for shipping and e-commerce,” says Fetchr’s co-founder Joy Ajlouny.
Fetchr’s incredible potential comes from elegantly solving a genuine global concern. Billions of people around the world do not have fixed street addresses. This poses a major challenge for deliveries in the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, India, Indonesia and other emerging markets. On the other hand, high levels of Smartphone penetration region-wide secure Fetchr a large audience. 94 percent of MENA Internet users go online using Smartphones at least once a month.
