Boxy emerges from stealth after a $1.5 million boost from EQIQ
Boxy was co-founded in 2024 by Ahmed Baqer and Mehrshad Pezeshk and aims to streamline Iraq's fragmented last-mile delivery sector by integrating couriers into a single, intelligent shipping platform, offering merchants real-time, optimal shipping options.
The partnership allows Boxy to leverage EQIQ's extensive network and resources for its growth.
Press release:
EQIQ, a venture capital fund and venture builder led by founding partners with a track record of investing over $500 million in technology ventures and generating returns exceeding 3.3x, unveils its $1.5 million pre-seed investment in Boxy, Iraq's first AI-powered logistics aggregator. Co-founded in 2024 by CEO Ahmed Baqer and CTO Mehrshad Pezeshk, alongside EQIQ, Boxy aims to seamlessly integrate Iraq's 1,500+ last-mile couriers within a single, intelligent shipping platform. Boxy has demonstrated signs of early product-market fit, achieving high double-digit growth consecutively since its launch in October 2024.
This investment reflects EQIQ's venture-building strategy of launching ventures with experienced entrepreneurs at the helm, filling critical market gaps. Logistics is the vital backbone driving the growth of e-commerce, particularly in a cash-dominant market such as Iraq. Boxy's launch marks a foundational step in EQIQ's vision to scale Iraq's digital infrastructure by building a cohesive digital ecosystem encompassing fintech, logistics, and e-commerce.
'Logistics is the backbone of the daily operations of the tech ecosystem,' said Mohamed Al-Hakim, Founding Partner at EQIQ. 'Boxy offers a tech-enabled, AI-powered logistics platform that helps merchants scale their businesses. By pairing our resources and networks with exceptional founders with 25+ years of sector expertise, we've built a venture designed to reshape how parcels move across Iraq and, soon, beyond.'
Boxy's leadership team embodies EQIQ's hallmark emphasis on exceptional founders with proven experience. CEO Ahmed Baqer brings over a decade of experience scaling operationally intensive startups such as Careem Iraq and Northladder. CTO Mehrshad Pezeshk has over 15 years of experience building and exiting tech-driven logistics ventures in the Middle East and North America.
'Our partnership with EQIQ is a shared vision for re-engineering Iraq's logistics sector in a way that doesn't require more shipping companies,' said Ahmed Baqer, Boxy's co-founder and CEO. 'Iraq needs a one-stop-shop logistics platform. Boxy helps merchants find the best shipping option per order using real-time data, eliminating the risk of relying on a single carrier.'
Boxy addresses the challenge of a fragmented last-mile delivery market by layering an AI-matching engine over an existing network of last-mile delivery players. Its proprietary platform routes each shipment to the optimal courier, using a data-driven approach linking merchant preferences with courier performance. Merchants gain a fully integrated solution solving multiple pain points, rather than juggling numerous dashboards, printing various labels, or navigating tedious courier negotiations. Boxy cuts merchant onboarding time from weeks to hours.
Boxy has experienced significant growth, with a 100% increase in merchants last month alone. The company is on track to integrate with leading courier networks in Baghdad and major provincial cities, capitalising on the $1.5 million investment to further develop its in-house proprietary tech and scale operations across Iraq.
'There's a myth that Iraq's last-mile market is unsolvable,' explains CTO and co-founder Mehrshad Pezeshk. 'With smart technology and the right infrastructure, we're proving otherwise. We are working side-by-side with EQIQ to build a robust, seamless foundation for Iraq's logistics market.'
Unlike traditional VC investments, EQIQ's greenfield approach positions the firm as Boxy's co-founder. From day one, EQIQ provided Boxy with strategic capital injection and operational and structural support while leveraging its ADGM headquarters.
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