Rino Founder and CEO Trung Thanh Nguyen
Vietnamese quick commerce startup Rino has bagged US$3 million in a pre-seed round of financing from Global Founders Capital (GFC), Sequoia Capital India, Venturra Discovery, and Saison Capital.
Rino will use the funds to expedite its blueprint for 10-minute instant delivery by setting up hundreds of “dark stores”, a retail distribution centre or warehouse that caters exclusively to online shoppers.
A portion of the funding will be channelled to develop Rino’s logistics units starting with Ho Chi Minh City.
Also read: The future of social and quick commerce for developing countries
Rino was launched in 2022 by CEO Trung Thanh Nguyen, who served as Beamin Vietnam COO and Grab Vietnam’s Head of Two-Wheel division.
The startup taps into the grocery sector’s last mile, aiming to provide rapid and reliable goods “at a touch of a button”.
Unlike current local platforms, which can take 30 minutes to 48 hours to fulfil fresh food and grocery orders, Rino does it in 10 minutes. This is possible thanks to its inventory and procuring system that works directly with suppliers and integrated dark stores.
These dark stores, owned by Rino, are located in densely populated residential areas so that delivery personnel can collect orders within minutes after purchase and deliver to several homes on a single trip.
“The quick commerce landscape has benefitted from permanent gains as consumers of all demographics continue to rely on e-commerce options even after COVID-19 lockdowns taper off,” said Chris Sirise, partner at Saison Capital.
Quick commerce has been gaining momentum in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, where companies such as Bananas, Astro, and RaRa Delivery recently attracted VC funding.
As per a McKinsey report, Vietnam’s US$108-billion retail sector is the fastest-growing in Southeast Asia and is poised for rapid modernisation. However, delivery and logistics have yet to catch on.
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Image credit: Rino
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