Ninja Van

Ninja Van Group is a Singapore-headquartered express delivery and last-mile logistics company serving e-commerce merchants and consumers in Southeast Asia. Founded in 2014, it operates a regional network spanning Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, and reports delivering approximately two million parcels a day. The company positions itself as technology-led: in 2014 it became the first logistics company in Singapore to provide real-time parcel tracking, and it subsequently applied routing algorithms to optimise delivery routes and reduce fuel consumption.

Beyond core parcel delivery, Ninja Van expanded into business-to-business services, launching restock and cold chain solutions in April 2024 with the aim of improving supply chain efficiency for business customers and lifting group margins by using its existing fleet more intensively. Management has said the company is profitable in certain markets but not all, and that the group is approaching EBITDA break-even. Plans for a public listing have been deferred pending improved profitability.

The company directly employs its delivery fleet — drivers referred to internally as "Ninjas" — rather than relying primarily on freelance gig workers, a choice management attributes to the need for a consistent baseload delivery capacity. Headcount was reported at more than 61,000 staff and delivery personnel in 2021, with a fleet of over 35,000 vehicles reported in 2024.

Founding story

The company grew out of Marcella, an online men's fashion line started by Chang Wen Lai, a former Barclays trader, together with Boxian Tan and Shaun Chong. The founders found customer acquisition straightforward but delivery difficult, as the existing logistics industry was not configured for e-commerce and parcels were frequently delayed or lost. Deciding to address the problem themselves, they pooled savings and, with help from friends and family, bought a second-hand van to start a technology-driven delivery service in 2014. The two businesses ran in parallel for about a year before the founders closed the fashion line to focus on logistics, which they judged more scalable across the region. In the early period the three founders worked 22-hour days sorting and delivering parcels themselves and slept in the office.

Business model

Ninja Van provides third-party express and last-mile parcel delivery, principally for e-commerce sellers and retailers, operating its own sorting network and directly employing its delivery workforce. It has extended into B2B restock and cold chain logistics to raise fleet utilisation and margins.

Revenue is generated from fees charged to merchants and businesses for parcel delivery and related logistics services, including cash-on-delivery shipments, with added B2B restock and cold chain offerings introduced in 2024 intended to improve margins.

Traction

The company reports delivering approximately two million parcels a day across six markets, up from about one million a day in 2020, with a fleet of over 35,000 vehicles and, as of 2021, more than 61,000 staff and delivery personnel. It has achieved profitability in certain markets and says it is nearing group EBITDA break-even.

Latest developments

In August 2025 Ninja Van was reported to be in talks to raise about $80 million in an internal round that would set its valuation near $1 billion, roughly half its 2021 mark, with existing investors B Capital Group and Monk's Hill Ventures expected to lead on terms providing preferential exit rights. A subsequent report described B Capital joining a $54.6 million round at half the 2021 price and acquiring Geopost's stake. In September 2025 the company moved to shut down its express delivery operations in Vietnam. IPO plans remain deferred until profitability improves.