Fawry (the “Company”, FWRY.CA on the Egyptian Exchange), Egypt’s leading e-payments solutions provider, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Samer Gharaibeh, Softec Technologies, and Ammar Zawaideh to co-found Roaderz, an innovative crowdsourcing platform that will connect individual couriers and small delivery operations with eCommerce merchants and social sellers.
Powered by state-of-the-art technology and AI, Roaderz will allow merchants to request a courier on demand or schedule shipment in advance while monitoring their shipment status and delivery progress in real-time. Roaderz will also allow eligible everyday commuters to earn additional income by using their personal vehicles to fulfill shipments and deliveries.
Fawry is joined in the venture by longstanding veterans of the Egyptian and regional logistics industries. Samer Gharaibeh is a serial entrepreneur and founder and CEO of mylerz, a parcel delivery company which leverages unique technologies to ensure rapid, same-day and next-day fulfillment for customers in the Egyptian market. Mr. Gharaibeh was previously CEO for Africa at Aramex, a multinational courier, logistics, and parcel delivery company.
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Softec Technologies is a globally recognized, award-winning technology company specializing in artificial intelligence and visibility solutions for transportation, mobility, logistics, and command & control. Softech helps more than 4,000 organizations achieve logistics excellence with its cloud platforms and on-premises deployments. Led by co-founder Nour Shawky, Softech will build Roaderz’s technology platform, contributing to the venture with its extensive track record and AI-powered solutions for last-mile logistics.
Ammar Zawaideh is a veteran of the regional corporate scene, bringing over two decades of experience in
executive management, corporate finance, and financial institutions. Between Dubai and Cairo, Mr. Zawaideh has been involved as founding partner with several establishments, and holds a number of advisory roles with regional organizations. Mr. Zawaideh has been named Chief Executive Officer at Roaderz.
Roaderz expects to commence operations during H1 2022 and will significantly contribute to the development of Egypt’s rapidly growing social commerce and eCommerce spaces. With Fawry’s payment solution as a backbone, the platform will facilitate frictionless collection and payments, creating significant value for users by shortening cash flow cycles. Roaderz will also provide increased flexibility for eCommerce merchants and social sellers to attain scale, while guaranteeing the payment and fulfilment link for both sides of a transaction. Further benefits to Roaderz will accrue from its integration with Fawry’s nationwide network of small- and medium-sized retailers.
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Commenting on the launch, Fawry CEO Eng. Ashraf Sabry said: “We’re very excited to be introducing Roaderz to the Egyptian market. This is an exciting investment in the logistics industry, where are building operations from the ground up, taking a direct role in operations, quality control, sales, and training. Last-mile delivery is a complex and exciting challenge. We’re entering into this challenge open-eyed and with faith in the power of technological solutions to improve outcomes for smaller merchants by enhancing their commercial reach.”
“We and our partners share the belief that putting our collective resources behind Egypt’s underserved SME space can yield great benefits,” added Sabry. “Our goal with Roaderz is to create a solution which can also have a broader social impact, by putting smaller businesses on a level playing field with larger competitors, providing couriers with flexible work and income opportunities, and reducing carbon emissions by decreasing the average kilometers travelled by a shipment before it reaches the end-user.”
Samer Gharaibeh, co-founder of Roaderz and founder and CEO at Mylerz, said: “Since the establishment of Mylerz in 2019, it has grown increasingly evident that the Egyptian market greatly needs a last-mile courier service aimed particularly at SMEs, social sellers, and e-commerce operations. We figured we could leverage this gap in supply and demand to develop a modern digital platform that provides both merchants and drivers with a frictionless, hassle-free system for transporting merchandise. With our and our partners’ capabilities and talent, we believe that Roaderz will be optimally placed to provide a user experience of the utmost efficiency and reliability”.
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About Fawry for Banking and Payment Technology Services
Founded in 2008, Fawry is the largest e-payment platform in Egypt serving the banked and unbanked population. Fawry’s primary services include enabling electronic bill payments, mobile top-ups and provisions for millions of Egyptian users. Other digital services also include e-ticketing, cable TV, and variety of other services. Through its peer-to-peer model, Fawry is enabling corporates and SMEs to accept electronic payments through a number of platforms including websites, mobile phones, and POSs. With a network of 36 member banks, its mobile platform and more than 250,000 agents, Fawry processes an average of 3 million transactions per day, serving an estimated customer base of 35 million users monthly. Learn more at www.fawry.com .
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer