Rita Huang, founder and chief executive of iMile, at the company's warehouse in Dubai Investments Park. She is looking for a local investor for the next round of funding. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Rita Huang, founder and chief executive of iMile, at the company's warehouse in Dubai Investments Park. She is looking for a local investor for the next round of funding. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Rita Huang, founder and chief executive of iMile, at the company's warehouse in Dubai Investments Park. She is looking for a local investor for the next round of funding. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Rita Huang, founder and chief executive of iMile, at the company's warehouse in Dubai Investments Park. She is looking for a local investor for the next round of funding. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Dubai start-up iMile to open regional research centre as it raises $10m


Alkesh Sharma
  • English
  • Arabic

iMile, a Dubai-based last mile delivery company, plans to open a new research and development centre in the region and expand its services across the Middle East after raising $10 million (Dh36.7m) in pre-Series A funding, the company’s founder said.

The funding round was led by a China-based venture capital firm that specialises in the logistics industry and will help the start-up roll-out its services to Egypt, Kuwait and Morocco in its push for regional expansion, Rita Huang, told The National. She did not name the Chinese backer of the firm.

"Improving iMile's tech prowess, customer experience and hiring new talent are our top priorities in the coming months," Ms Huang, who is also the chief executive of iMile, told The National. "Some analysts say that logistics is out-of-fashion now… [but] as a next generation company, we see massive potential."

iMile's delivery operations, which also include a cash-on-delivery option, span the two biggest Arab economies - Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It currently operates two R&D centres in Shenzhen and Hangzhou in China and plans to open a third in the region - either in the UAE or Saudi Arabia - in the coming months.

“Our aim is to develop local solutions and technology to address regional needs. An indigenous R&D centre would also promote knowledge and capacity building in the region,” she added.

Last mile delivery is defined as the movement of goods from a transportation hub to the final destination as fast as possible. The rapid surge in the logistics industry and an increase in the demand for the last mile delivery services is driving the growth of the market.

Rita Huang, founder and chief executive of iMile, aims to develop customised technology to address local needs. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Rita Huang, founder and chief executive of iMile, aims to develop customised technology to address local needs. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The global last mile delivery market is forecast to reach $61.57 billion in the next five years, from $31.19bn in 2018, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 10.2 per cent, according toLondon-based researcher Brandessence Market Research.

After raising an undisclosed initial seed capital from angel investors, Ms Huang founded the company in June 2017.

“We are excited to have strategic investors on board who understand how iMile is challenging the status quo in last mile delivery,” said Ms Huang, who has nearly a decade of experience in the Middle East and North Africa region.

“This [new] funding will enable us to continue our work of creating innovative last mile solutions and scale our business.”

Before starting iMile, she was the chief technology officer of an Alibaba-Meraas cloud computing joint venture in Dubai. Prior to that she was the country manager for Huawei in the UAE.

Some of the iMile’s clients include e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Noon and Mumzworld, together with leading China-based fashion and lifestyle platforms such as Shein and Club Factory.

The company is working on both business-to-business and business-to-consumer segments, enabling Chinese merchants to sell on platforms such as Amazon and Noon in the region.

“We are catering to the end consumers as well,” said Ms Huang, adding the company's services include collecting an order from Chinese warehouses, cross-border shipment, custom clearance in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, then delivering the product to the customer’s doorstep.

It is also offering warehouse and fulfillment facilities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where sellers can keep their goods and iMile’s staff will prepare orders and deliver, when required.

Currently, the company has around 700 employees spread across the UAE, the kingdom and China. Nearly 40 per cent of its staff are engineers, engaged in developing last mile technology. It plans to increase its technical team two- to three-fold moving forward, she noted.

The company, which is already breaking even, last year saw a near 10 times year-on-year increase in new bookings.

“There are quarters when we are profitable while sometimes we are only touching the break-even point,” said Ms Huang, who is now looking for a local investor for the next round of funding.

Ms Huang sees the coronavirus outbreak as an opportunity to prove the business's agility.

The SARS outbreak in China in 2003 was a turning point for the country’s largest e-commerce players, such as Alibaba, she said.

“When the demand for delivery of fast-moving consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and other daily necessities ramped up, the e-commerce and last-mile delivery sectors will evolve in order to keep pace with the needs of the market.”

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

Results

5.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Al Battar, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer).

6.05pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Good Fighter, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

6.40pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

7.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Immortalised, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

7.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Franz Kafka, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.

8.25pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Mayadeen, Connor Beasley, Doug Watson.

9pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Chiefdom, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Russia's Muslim Heartlands

Dominic Rubin, Oxford

TCL INFO

Teams:
Punjabi Legends 
Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan

Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
When December 14-17

The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
​​​​​​​Scribe

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal. 

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.” 

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.

if you go

The flights

Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.

The hotel

Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.

The tour

Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPAD%20(2022)
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THE SPECS

Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre

Transmission: Seven-speed auto

Power: 165hp

Torque: 241Nm

Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000

On sale: now

Maestro
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

Brief scoreline

Switzerland 0

England 0

Result: England win 6-5 on penalties

Man of the Match: Trent Alexander-Arnold (England)

Intercontinental Cup

Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19

Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster

Price, base: Dh708,750

Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Power: 374hp (total)

Torque: 570Nm (total)

Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km