Global-e raises $20m to accelerate growth in Europe

Cross-border e-commerce specialist, Global-e becomes the first company to secure funding from Red Dot Capital Partners, a Temasek Holdings funded growth stage capital fund

Global-e, the cross-border e-commerce specialist, has secured a $20 million investment led by Red Dot Capital Partners, an investment fund for growth-stage technology companies funded by Temasek Holdings, the government-owned investment company in Singapore. The capital will be used to support and accelerate Global-e’s growth and expansion in Europe and other target markets.

Red Dot Capital Partners is a $150-million capital fund launched in early 2016. Fully funded by Temasek, through its enterprise development unit, Red Dot Capital Partners aims to invest in Israel related high-tech growth companies.

Established in 2013, Global-e is the leading European provider of cross-border solutions for e-commerce retailers. The company, headquartered in London Farringdon, enables retailers to provide a localised e-commerce offering in more than 200 destinations worldwide. Global-e works with a growing number of leading retailers, including Crabtree and Evelyn, Astley Clarke, Illamasqua, and Griffin Technology.

Global-e is growing fast but steady – in the first half of 2016 alone 250% growth is forecast, compared with the previous half of 2015. These figures are forecast to double by the end of 2016 with growth expected to reach 500% annually. It is these impressive figures, and steep upward trajectory, combined with the rapidly-growing cross-border e-commerce market which is set to reach $1 Trillion by 2020 and accounting for 30 per cent of sales globally, that interested Red Dot.

Global-e is the first company to secure funding from Red Dot Capital Partners. The capital will be used to accelerate Global-e’s growth across Europe, and in particular the high-growth markets of UK, France and Spain, enabling Global-e to expand its UK head office, Israeli and Ukrainian R&D centres and its sales offices and operational centres across Europe, with a number of additional strategic hires. As part of the investment, Zvika Naggan, Managing Partner at Red Dot Capital Partners, has joined Global-e’s board of directors.

Amir Schlachet, CEO and co-founder of Global-e, said: “There is an increasing opportunity for retailers of all sizes to take advantage of the potential growth that cross-border e-commerce can provide. With emerging markets competing with Europe and the US, there couldn’t be a better time to start doing business in new overseas markets. With this investment we plan to grow our cross-border e-commerce services further while expanding our teams in the UK, France, Spain and other European markets. Securing this funding from one of the world’s most established investment funds is a significant step for Global-e and we’re excited about the opportunity to work together with the highly experienced team of Red Dot throughout this next phase in our journey.”

Zvika Naggan, Managing Partner at Red Dot Capital Partners, said: “In just three years Global-e has grown rapidly and is now delivering impressive returns for a growing number of retailers in the UK and across Europe. Global-e is poised for further growth due to its unique offering for retailers seeking cross-border e-commerce solutions and the increasing numbers of consumers shopping with online retailers abroad. With backing from Red Dot, Global-e is in a great position to take advantage of the huge market opportunity.”