Borzo: New Vision, New Drive
Welcome back to an all-new Head’s Up. For this issue, we spoke to Lingesh Thayala, Country Manager of delivery service provider, Borzo, who speaks about the recent rebranding and his vision on staying ahead.
If you enjoyed this interview, be sure to like , comment and share!
But just before you go on, here’s are some announcements.
News & Announcements
Cikguu, an education-tech startup, has emerged victorious from a cohort of 71 teams to receive RM 50,000 in funding. Cikguu is a social network platform for tutors and learners to meet, book, and learn, with focus on autonomy and community. In short, it’s learning made simple and human. They are currently in limited release and are looking for more teachers: https://cikguu.com
Cikguu was part of the Alpha Startups™ Digital Accelerator Cohort 38 was held in collaboration between 1337 Ventures and Amanz. It was supported by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Digital Penang, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Airtable, and iTrain Asia.
If you’d like to know more about the startup ecosystem in Malaysia, check out Muru-ku.com for an up-to-date and curated list of all the startups in Malaysia, VCs, events, and grants available, visit: https://muru-ku.com.
Ready to start investing in Equity Crowdfunding campaigns and startups? Leet Capital Angel Investor Insight Series #3, featuring guest speaker Izwan from Izwan & Partners will be sharing about the legal aspect for investors when they consider investing in a startup/SME.
The following will be discussed:
The importance of understanding the legal aspects of fundraising
Key documents in an ECF campaign
The significance of these documents to an investor and what you should look out for
Potential legal red flags
Join in for a fruitful session on 5th November with Izwan Zakaria, RSVP at https://bit.ly/angelseries3.
Interview with Lingesh Thayala, Country Manager, Borzo
Over the years, the idea of having your food delivered right to your doorstep has mostly been a choice. But with the arrival of the pandemic late-2019, the choice of having almost anything, from food to your next laptop to be delivered straight to you took priority as a means of convenience.
The continuous imposing of lockdowns throughout 2020 and 2021 gave new opportunities for businesses to pivot into the industry as seen with AirAsia and as for existing players, it was all about providing the better experience.
Borzo (formerly known as Mr Speedy) , having been part of the delivery industry since 2018 is looking to position itself at the forefront of the on-demand delivery service industry.
“The delivery industry in Malaysia has definitely caught up with the local demands, especially post-lockdown. In my opinion, Malaysia still has a long journey to achieve a healthy competitive level for the on-demand delivery industry as the available services have yet to achieve the most optimal level of digital on-demand delivery service provider,” Lingesh Thayala, Country Manager of Borzo tells Head’s Up.
Nevertheless, he is optimistic we will be able to achieve this in the near future.
Speaking on its recent rebranding exercise, Lingesh says it is meant to represent unity and togetherness. As a global company, Borzo fully intends to continue supporting local communities and the economy by providing improving on-demand delivery service and opportunities for the gig economy to continuously grow.
Supporting SMEs and Startups
“In 2018, when Borzo first operated in Malaysia, the SME and startup markets were the business segments that were constantly looking for cheaper and better alternatives. In the beginning, focusing on such segments gave Borzo the chance to support over 50,000 businesses just in Klang Valley alone,” says Lingesh.
He further adds that this proves that Borzo has the ability not only to focus on the growing sector of businesses but also beyond that.
Today, while expanding across the nation, the service provider continues to support both markets while aiming to evolve as the top player in the delivery industry. This, Lingesh says, results in bigger focuses such as large enterprises and corporate partnerships.
As for their support for businesses throughout the pandemic, Borzo has provided local players with an online delivery option for them to adapt their operations to the digital ecosystem.
Now with the recent experience of the country going into lockdown, they see themselves as a delivery solution provider to empower local businesses to reach out to a larger audience.
In emulating the same success they have had in Klang Valley to other states, the Country Manager says each location requires a unique understanding of the geographical, and behavioural aspects of the local market.
“Educating the market is first required to develop similar demand patterns in other parts of the country.”
Lingesh also points out that the gig economy has brought about opportunities for individuals to have the flexibility to decide their working hours and income. As a platform, Borzo provides gig workers with an avenue to make a living out of the traditional job structure, which results in providing opportunities to over 150,000 individuals and growing just within the Borzo ecosystem.
Budget 2022
“As a business that had been around pre-lockdown and during the lockdown, Borzo has felt the financial shift impact from both aspects. Upon providing courier service to over 50,000 businesses and giving an opportunity of survival to over 150,000 couriers, 2022 will definitely be experiencing a hike in demand and supply from the courier industry as a whole in order to recover from the 2021 financial situation,” he says.
Borzo hopes that the 2022 Budget is able to recognise the income-earning opportunity through the gig economy to support couriers in obtaining financing for their vehicles as a means for couriers to earn an income.
“We also would like to see the incentive initiative carry on to encourage more couriers to be able to take advantage of this earning opportunity,” he adds.
Vision and Staying Ahead
“In this business, we are very clear that we know the needs of our customers which are predominantly SME’s and startups. To reassert our position, our core focus will be to ensure Borzo is a service you can depend on to be reliable and provide a great quality service,” Lingesh tells Head’s Up.
To do so is not without its challenges. The biggest challenges as he says would normally include limitations of technology but with optimism in mind, Lingesh also shares that daily movements within the competitive brands in the local market offers them the opportunity to test new and existing products at hand while the global benchmark allows the service provider to challenge themselves for new and improved product services.
As for the future, the Country Manager says Borzo strives to be able to provide same-day delivery service to e-commerce merchants at prices of current third-party logistics (3PL) players.
“Imagine ordering on your favourite e-commerce platform and getting your product delivered on the same day at a delivery price almost similar to the traditional delivery option. That’s a vision we are working towards.”
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