Sequoia India leads $4.9m seed round of Philippine ecommerce logistics startup

Philippines-based ecommerce fulfillment startup Locad bagged US$4.9 million in a seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital India’s accelerator program Surge.

Other investors that joined the round include Antler, Febe Ventures, Foxmont, Global Founders Capital, the Gokongwei family, and Hustle Fund.

Photo credit: Locad

Launched in 2020, Locad is Surge’s first investment in the Philippines and is a part of the accelerator program’s fifth cohort. It also has its headquarters in Singapore, with offices in Australia and India.

Locad offers centralized software for simplified ecommerce logistics, backed by a vast warehousing network and last-mile delivery partners across the country. It promises faster delivery and lower shipping costs for business owners and consumers in the Philippines, regardless of the sales platform used.

The new fund will be used to boost its software engineering team, improve platform features, and increase warehouse network capacity, and for Locad’s expansion in Southeast Asia.

“The goal is to very much to enable our brands to grow, to level the playing field for both large retailers and SME’s and enable them with world-class infrastructure for ecommerce fulfillment,” Locad co-founder and CEO Constantin Robertz told media.