Zubale is raising new capital to match contract workers with e-commerce fulfillment roles in Latin America

The e-commerce market in Latin America has been gaining popularity over the past two years and is expected to double to over $100 billion by 2025.

As in the United States and elsewhere, customers in LatAm expect their online orders to arrive at their homes accurately and quickly. This means that brands and retailers need enough staff to handle all e-commerce orders.

This is where Zubale comes in. The Mexico-based company created the software and associates marketplace to address two areas: provide retailers with workers to fulfill orders and provide independent workers with a flexible way to earn a regular income.

Co-founders Allison Campbell and Sebastian Monroy started the company in 2018 and say Zubale means “hop on board or fly” in Spanish. Their vision is to enable people with smartphones to earn money and improve their quality of life.

We first connected with the pair in 2019, when they raised $4.4 million. At the time, Zubale’s company was a bit different and wanted to connect large corporations with employees who could take on tasks such as market research for cellphone credits or other types of digital rewards.

The company currently competes with companies such as Rappi, iFood and Cornershop and works with retailers including fashion brands, supermarkets, specialty stores and pharmacies to fulfill e-commerce orders using independent workers who pick and pack orders from the retailer’s store or warehouse, and then deliver the order to the customer.

After raising $8 million in several rounds over the years, Zubale is back with a fresh cash infusion of $40 million in Series A financing led by QED Investors. Participating investors also include GFC, Felicis Ventures and Hans Tung of GGV Capital, as well as existing investors including NFX, Kevin Efrusy of Accel, Wollef and Maya Capital.

Zubale’s operations began in Mexico and have since expanded to Colombia, Costa Rica and Peru. With this new funding, the company intends to invest in technology development, expand operations in Brazil and Chile, and bring some embedded financial products and services to market. Initially, the company is looking at paying bills, micro-payments for insurance and other benefits, and then how to manage the costs of starting freelance work, Campbell told TechCrunch.

“Now, in the next step, we are looking at how we can create financial products and services that will help them (employees) solve their problems,” she added. “We wanted to have fintech at the table, which is why we selected QED as part of our Series A round because they have the expertise in building these financial products. They were really excited about the strength of our marketplace and how we can provide it as the next layer of financial inclusion.”

QED was also keen to join. In a written statement, Lauren Morton, partner at QED Investors, said: “We were immediately impressed with the Zubale team’s vision and execution. Their approach to increasing opportunities for independent workers in the region is a major step forward towards financial inclusion, and we are inspired by how they can expand this impact over time.”

Monroy, who moved to Brazil to establish the company’s presence there, says Zubale already works with three major retailers and has an advantage over 10 others.

The company currently employs tens of thousands of contract workers using its marketplace and has seen growth of 25% per month over the past two years. It also employs 150 product and engineering managers, up from 40 during the same period.

“We have signed deals that will enable the company to more than triple in size over the next month,” Monroy said. “So imagine what we have achieved, and now our execution is focused on Brazil and Chile, which have been huge opportunities for us.”