Israeli cross-border e-commerce specialist Global-e has raised a $20 million financing round led by Red Dot Capital Partners, an investment fund for growth-stage technology companies funded by Temasek Holdings, the Singapore government-owned investment company. The capital will be used to support and accelerate Global-e’s growth and expansion in Europe and other target markets.
Established in 2013 by CEO Amir Schlahet, COO Shahar Tamari and CMO Nir Debbi, the company is headquartered in London and has its development center in Petah Tikva. Global-e is a European provider of cross-border solutions for e-commerce retailers, enabling them to provide a localised e-commerce offering in more than 200 destinations worldwide. Global-e works with a growing number of leading retailers, including Crabtree and Evelyn, Astley Clarke, Illamasqua, and Griffin Technology.
In the first half of 2016 alone, Global-e forecasts 250% growth, compared with the previous half of 2015. These figures are forecast to double by the end of 2016 with growth expected to reach 500% annually. It is this steep upward trajectory, combined with the rapidly-growing cross-border e-commerce market which is set to reach $1 trillion by 2020 and accounting for 30% of sales globally, which interested Red Dot.
Schlachet said: “There is an increasing opportunity for retailers of all sizes to take advantage of the potential growth that cross-border e-commerce can provide. With emerging markets competing with Europe and the US, there couldn’t be a better time to start doing business in new overseas markets. With this investment we plan to grow our cross-border e-commerce services further while expanding our teams in the UK, France, Spain and other European markets."
As part of the investment, Zvika Naggan, Managing Partner at Red Dot Capital Partners, has joined Global-e’s board of directors. He said, “In just three years Global-e has grown rapidly and is now delivering impressive returns for a growing number of retailers in the UK and across Europe. Global-e is poised for further growth due to its unique offering for retailers seeking cross-border e-commerce solutions and the increasing numbers of consumers shopping with online retailers abroad. With backing from Red Dot, Global-e is in a great position to take advantage of the huge market opportunity.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 9, 2016
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