CDC Group makes $36m equity investment in Ecom Express

Gurugram, Tuesday, 10 December, 2019: Ecom Express Private Limited, CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor in South Asia and Africa, today announced that it has closed a $36 million equity investment in Warburg Pincus backed Ecom Express, one of the fastest-growing tech enabled end to end Indian logistics company.

Ecom Express is renowned for its speed, safe and reliable nation-wide express delivery services for the e-commerce industry. Ecom Express’s expansive network is best in the industry, reaching over 90% of the India’s population, with more than 85% of its presence in Tier 2/3/4 cities and hinterlands. The network empowers and connects sellers and consumers, thereby enabling growth of the e-commerce industry and its surrounding ecosystem. This will also support the development of smaller, harder to reach towns as they are brought into the ecommerce network, giving local people access to goods and services they otherwise may not have.

In addition to network expansion and augmentation, CDC’s equity injection enables Ecom Express to significantly accelerate job creation from c.32,000 employees to c.47,000 within the next 1-2 years. This will be complemented by a distinct focus on increasing the number of employed women in the workforce, bringing further diversity.

Furthermore, CDC’s commitment to working with investees to address transformational climate urgency measures will be demonstrated through this partnership with Ecom Express. The fund, as part of the initiatives, will work with Ecom Express to transition a proportion of its distribution fleet to electric vehicles and sponsor a road safety programme for its drivers and fleet operators.

Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director and Head of Asia CDC, said: In Ecom Express, we have a partner company that recognises the vital importance of creating a genuinely sustainable and gender inclusive business. I am delighted that, through our expertise in impact investing in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, we will be adding value far beyond our capital contribution.

We are dedicated to responsibly investing our capital in India, with over $1.7bn currently committed to local businesses. We have the same amount again to invest over the next few years and look forward to working with many more businesses that are as environmentally and socially conscious as Ecom Express”.

T.A. Krishnan, Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Ecom Express said, “We are truly delighted to welcome CDC as our partner. The infusion of capital will help us further expand our delivery footprint in connecting towns and rural centers across the country. Besides expanding reach, the company plans to invest in technology, deploy advanced parcel sortation systems, strengthen network reliability and infrastructure, and finally, make development impact with job creation, environmentally responsible initiatives and gender diversity. These initiatives will help us deliver superior customer experience and build a scalable and sustainable business. We look forward to leveraging CDC’s expertise in driving businesses with socially responsible and environmental initiatives and the firm’s global network of relationships.”

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