South African parcel shipping platform, TUNL, has secured US$1 million in pre-seed funding from an array of investors, including Founders Factory Africa, Digital Africa Ventures, E4E Africa, and Jozi Angels.
The platform, which promises to help e-commerce merchants save between 50% and 80% on international shipping costs, says the funding will fuel its expansion in its primary market, South Africa, and lay the groundwork for its launch in other key African and emerging markets.
According to Craig Lowman (COO, TUNL): “Our pricing is completely transparent and democratised. We want to ensure that every business, large or small, can have an equal chance to convert overseas sales by reducing the cost of shipping as much as possible”.
CEO Matthew Davey and COO Craig Lowman founded TUNL in 2022 after Davey looked to solve a challenge he faced as Managing Director of a Dutch company that imported South African engineering materials into Europe. The process was so cumbersome and expensive that it made Davey realise how widespread the issue of high shipping costs was, especially for smaller businesses in emerging markets like South Africa.