Bosta heads east: Egyptian courier startup Bosta will launch in the UAE and Saudi Arabia in 2022 following its bumper funding round earlier this year, Wamda reports. The expansion into the two countries — which together account for almost half of the region’s e-commerce industry — is being aided by the USD 6.7 mn series A round the company closed in May, a little over a year after it raised USD seven-figures in a separate series A.

Why Saudi Arabia and the UAE? The two countries account for almost half of the e-commerce industry in the Middle East and are both promising growth markets. CEO and co-founder Mohamed Ezzat had said earlier this year that the company was looking to enter the two countries before the end of 2021.

Kuwait + Africa next? Ezzat also said earlier this year that Kuwait and several African countries were among the seven new markets Bosta wants to enter in the next five years.

Bosta has ambitious plans to scale up: The company wants to quintuple its daily deliveries to 100k in 2022 from 20k.