Contxto – Whaddya get when you cross a fintech unicorn with a large e-commerce market? An international logistics company. Enter Leve Express, EBANX’s logistics arm.
The parent company initially released Leve to connect Chinese vendors with Brazilian consumers in February of this year. But yesterday (20), EBANX announced its launch into the US market.
For now, Leve will focus on connecting these international sellers with consumers in Brazil. But the team hopes to expand to other Latam countries in 2021.
The endeavor’s overlying goal is to facilitate delivery times between vendors and buyers in Latin America eager to go on virtual shopping sprees.
EBANX sheds some “leve” on logistics
E-commerce is gaining traction in Latin America and platforms abroad are earnest to launch into the regional market.
Nonetheless when they lack a friend with boots on the ground to help manage the importing process and deliver the goods… the customer experience takes a hit.
That’s in terms of poor visibility to track a parcel, high tariffs that hike up costs for the buyer, and over-extended delivery times.
These are the pain points Leve wants to address.
EBANX had already been working with US-based vendors. But it had done so via payment solutions across the nine Latin American markets where the startup operates.
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E-commerce is prime for the picking
Many users are filling their virtual shopping carts for the first time. According to Visa Mexico’s General Director, Luz Adriana Ramírez, the pandemic brought on many new buyers.
“During the first three months of the pandemic we saw 13 million first-time e-commerce users in Latin America,” said the executive in a recent press conference.
Consequently, marketplaces and fintechs alike are eager to rope in the opportunity but on an international scale.
Just last month, marketplace Mercado Libre announced a partnership with ShipStation—an Austin-based software developer—to further connect US vendors with the Latam market. This time around, we’re seeing EBANX take a swing.
Unsurprisingly, I expect similar initiatives to be launched in what remains of this year and into 2021.
Related articles: Tech and startups from Brazil!
-ML