The Organic Emergence of Orderii E-commerce

Originally published in the fifth issue of Five One Review.

Shakir Ayad Shakir stumbled on the idea of Orderii very naturally. While Shakir was at college shopping for books from the US, he found himself requesting items from his friends and colleagues. Shakir is now the co-founder and CEO of Orderii, a cross-border e-commerce platform for items from the US, China, and Turkey. Through Orderii, Shakir provides consumers access to global brands and markets, payment solutions, and last-mile delivery on a user-friendly app. 

Shakir’s journey was not all smooth sailing. Shakir understood the local Iraqi market. He noticed that Iraqi consumers wanted to buy original international brands, but the local market was not catering to their needs. To fill this market gap, he opened a shipping office called Shakir Amazon in 2015. Shakir also joined the Orange Corners Innovation Fund training program. He gained a deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset and was awarded EUR27.5K in seed funding. Shakir also participated in the ScaleUp Academy by Kapita, where he was inspired to sell his car and self-fund his startup! Shakir’s practical work experience at the marketing department of delivery startup Toters added a layer of insight into the e-commerce space. 

In 2022, Shakir launched the Orderii app with a six-figure investment from Iraq Venture Partners (IVP). He compares his partnership with IVP to marriage. The value of partnering with IVP goes over and beyond just simple financing. The partnership opened doors to networking, access to customers, and advisory support. Five One Invest and IVP have supported Orderii in his entrepreneurial journey through a joint Investment Readiness Program. 

With over 10K downloads and 1K+ active customers, the numbers prove Orderii’s success. The company continues to expand and develop to offer a more seamless shopping experience. Today, Orderii places itself at the top of Iraq's local logistics and e-commerce platforms, competing with players such as Wasil, Pure Platform, and Simma. With more promising success to come, let us see what the future has to hold for Shakir!