Last-mile logistics startup Ninja Van announced today it has secured US$30 million for its series B round of funding. The round is led by the Abraaj group, an international private equity investor that operates in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Turkey.

Existing investors Monk’s Hill Ventures and new investors B Capital Group and Yahoo Japan Capital also joined in.

“Abraaj is the largest private equity fund focused on growth markets and has the experience and connectivity in the markets we would like to enter,” Ninja Van co-founder and CEO Chang Wen Lai tells Tech in Asia. Yahoo Japan Capital and B Capital’s understanding of technology and connectivity were also important factors, he added.

The funding is immediately available to Ninja Van and it will be used exclusively for growth, Chang Wen confirms. The startup plans to expand its service to “all markets in Southeast Asia,” including Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

It will also work on improving its services across the region, which includes training personel and smoothing out customer support processes. “[We’ll develop] systems to better monitor all our assets on the ground, and ensure strong communications between customer, customer service ninjas, and delivery ninjas – with automation playing a big role,” Chang Wen says.

The startup’s edge in its logistics offering lies in algorithms that allow its delivery personnel to optimize their routes and offer faster and more reliable services.

Ninja Van launched in Malaysia less than a month ago, and has been on “soft launch” in Indonesia for a while. The startup says it supports over 3,000 clients and delivers about 15,000 parcels per day across Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It’s working with brands like Lazada, Zalora, Qoo10, Shopee, and more. It does not reveal any revenue numbers, however.

“In a period of tighter credit, [the funds] will allow Ninja Van to achieve its aim to be one of the top three express parcel providers in all its markets,” Chang Wen says.

He’s confident of the company’s chances against competition in the region. He adds, “We build up our own assets, use our reserve fleets to scale capacity faster, provide other fleets with fleet systems to be able to access resources in remote cities and coverage areas. Ninja points allow us to leverage off existing brick and mortar shops to expand our physical drop off and collect network.”