TUNL, a South African parcel shipping platform, has received $1 million in pre-seed funding from investors including Founders Factory Africa, Digital Africa Ventures, E4E Africa, and Jozi Angels.
The company was created in 2022 by CEO Matthew Davey and COO Craig Lowman. Davey was motivated to start the business after encountering a problem while working as managing director of a Dutch company that imported engineering supplies from South Africa into Europe.
The platform plans to use the money to expand its business in South Africa, its main market, and to launch in other important emerging African economies. It claims it can assist e-commerce businesses save 80% to 50% on international shipping expenses.
“Our pricing is completely transparent and democratized. We want to ensure that every business, large or small, can have an equal chance to convert overseas sales by reducing the cost of shipping as much as possible,” said Lowman.
“It’s all about helping the merchant succeed because if you have one shipping option at checkout that’s expensive and the customer has two choices, they can abandon that cart or decide to pay the money,” said Davey.
With 700 merchants now part of its “shipping club,” TUNL has increased 35% month-on-month since its start. According to a statement from TUNL, merchants from South Africa have exported goods worth over R24 million (~$1.3 million) in 2023, with over 11,000 overseas parcels being dispatched. In addition to ANKA, an Ivorian startup and DHL partner, TUNL intends to build partnerships with comparable marketplaces and platforms across Africa.
The e-commerce site has been around for two years, and it generates revenue through a percentage of each order. Backpacks, trendy shoes, DIY supplies, books, nanofiber materials, high-performance springs, a variety of furniture, musical instruments, and non-perishable items like cosmetics are all part of its wide range of products.
The new funding will support platform expansion in South Africa and launch in other significant African and emerging markets.
Sales and the merchant onboarding procedure will both be enhanced with the new funds.
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