Turkish food delivery startup Getir achieves ‘decacorn’ status

LONDON: Emirati investment in Turkish rapid delivery service Getir has helped boost the company’s value to $11.8 billion.

Backers led by Mubadala Investment Co., the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund, invested $768 million in Getir’s latest fundraising round.

More than $2 billion has now been invested in Getir, and the firm’s valuation puts it in the coveted club of startups worth in excess of $10 billion.

When news broke of its latest funding round success, Getir said that it had achieved “decacorn” status — a play on the word unicorn used to describe startups valued at more than $1 billion.

Getir offers thousands of items for rapid delivery to customers. The app used has been downloaded around 40 million times globally, and the company now facilitates approximately 1 million orders every day.

Delivery services such as Getir rely on so-called dark stores, which are centrally located but inaccessible stores used to facilitate quick deliveries.

Getir was founded in 2015 by Nazim Salur, 60, a Turkish entrepreneur. It operates in all 81 cities in Turkey and has expanded into 48 cities across Europe and the US.

The latest valuation means the company is now worth more than Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second-largest supermarket, despite Getir bringing in just a fraction of the profit generated by the groceries chain.

Many services similar to Getir and others in the space are currently loss-making, but the companies and their venture fund backers are seeking to expand rapidly and consolidate market share in what is a fast-growing industry: The very speedy delivery of any and all items.

Getir recently purchased British competitor Weezy, in the process acquiring its dark stores throughout the UK to use for its deliveries.

Jamie Blewitt, co-head of private growth capital at finnCap Group, the investment bank, told The Times that Getir’s bumper valuation was “clearly a testament to the consumer adoption that Getir is seeing with what is still a relatively new business model and trend.”

He said: “The new investors coming on board should give them that extra firepower needed to win in the increasingly competitive market and expand further afield. The market is ripe for consolidation, so no doubt this capital will give them additional options.”

The Mubadala Investment Co. is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world and owns significant parts of major companies such as Ferrari, microchip manufacturer AMD, and asset manager the Carlyle Group.

Ibrahim Ajami, head of ventures and growth at Mubadala, said: “Groceries represent one of the largest offline to online opportunities globally, led by fast-changing consumer habits which have accelerated online purchasing adoption.

“We believe Getir will continue to prove to be an industry leader as it expands into new categories and geographies. We remain impressed by management’s ability to enter new markets whilst providing an exceptional customer experience,” he added.