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Ayala Ventures, Foxmont Capital join Philippine e-commerce enabler Etaily’s US$1.6M seed round

Etaily founding team

Etaily, an e-commerce enabler in the Philippines, said today it has secured US$1.6 million in seed funding from Ayala Ventures, Foxmont Capital Partners, Magsaysay Shipping & Logistics, the Boston Consulting Group, and unnamed angels.

Launched in March 2020, Etaily provides brands with a one-stop, omnichannel solution to help them sell virtually. From content production and channel creation to warehousing and fulfilment, it offers a full suite of services encompassing anything brands would need to attract consumers, transact online, and deliver their products.
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Etaily claims it has generated more than one million transactions and made more than 50,000 unique products available in countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

It has managed more than 20 brands across all online channels, activated more than ten offline retailers for online capability, and has a projected gross merchandise value revenue of US$10 million in 2021.

Alexander Friedhoff, CEO of Etaily, said: “We are connecting online brands and retailers to ASEAN consumers by integrating their business offline and online. The most important thing there is one winner, the final consumer. And we are happy to give them a fighting chance and to support end-to-end throughout their journey.”

Also Read: E-commerce enabler Great Deals closes US$30M Series B to build automated fulfilment centre in Philippines

Toti Wong, CCO of Etaily, said: “I think most Filipino retailers are quickly learning that e-commerce is becoming more complex. The marketplaces in 2017 were different than that of today. In the coming months and years, this will not get any simpler. As an e-commerce enabler, Etaily’s role is to navigate these complexities for sellers and brands, so they don’t have to learn all these things themselves. They can then focus on their core business of brand management, distribution, and retailing.”

Tatiana Cziormer, COO of Etaily, said: “As e-commerce grows in SEA and the Philippines, we know it will become more complex. The SMEs will have to be on different stages and we have to provide solutions for them. We need to innovate and create new technology for them. At the end of the day, we hope Filipino brands and retailers will become competitive, especially in the global market. We want to bring down the geographical and commercial barriers so that we can introduce to the global market brands that Filipinos love.”

In May, Great Deals E-Commerce Corporation, a leading e-commerce enabler in the Philippines, raised US$30 million in Series B funding round, led by local logistics major Fast Group, which was also joined by CVC Capital Partners and Navegar.

According to International Trade Administration, COVID-19 has increased demand for e-commerce in the Philippines. While the younger population was already open to online shopping, the need for social distancing has pushed the cash centric and face to face shopping culture towards a more digital one, and this is expected to continue.

What is lacking is proper digital and logistics infrastructure to truly enable a digital economy. There needs to be higher bandwidth capacity to service the retail market.

Plus, Filipinos are prolific users of social media. Estimates in 2020 showed that there were 76 million active social media users in the country. Of this, 75 million are on Facebook, 12 million on Twitter, and 4 million on LinkedIn.

Image Credit: Etaily

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