With all of the buzz about world supply chain issues, it’s no surprise that logistics and last-mile delivery services have grown in popularity and attracted investment.
In a pre-Series, A investment, Naqla, Egypt’s trucking technology platform and marketplace that connects truck owners with cargo firms, secured $10.5 million.
Major investors such as El Sewedy Capital Holding (SCH), Hassan Allam Holding (HAH), and the Sallam Family lead the round.
Since its inception in 2017, Naqla has grown rapidly into 35+ operational zones, controlling the transportation and delivery of over 4.6 million tonnes of goods, and now works with over 400 shippers and 10,500 drivers around Egypt.
Naqla’s major goal is to use technology to modernize and extend Egypt’s supply chain by automating orders among shippers and drivers via its two main apps.
Naqla’s business strategy caters to Egypt’s hitherto neglected road freight industry, which has risen in prominence since the commencement of supply issues caused by Covid. Businesses are constantly looking for ways to improve inland transportation efficiency from Egypt’s major entrance and exit ports in order to keep commodities flowing through their supply chains.
Sherif Taher and Samer Sallam, who founded Naqla in 2017, have grown the company to a 165-person team spread across all of the country’s major cities while incorporating numerous strands of technology and immediate pricing to provide an outstanding first-class customer experience for both shippers and truckers.
In response to the funding, Sherif Taher, Naqla’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, stated that the company is now set up perfectly to expand its digital logistics proposal and market visibility, bringing much-demanded technology infrastructure to the underserved Egyptian logistics and trucking industry at an important moment in the nation’s economic development. He thanked the investors for their contribution to the Naqla journey, saying that this investment will allow the company to accelerate its growth and expand vertically into new markets.
El Sewedy Capital Board Member Farouk Kadous stated that they are excited to join Naqla on their endeavor to fundamentally transform the logistics infrastructure in the region. He went on to say that they have a lot of experience in the infrastructure industry, and that this investment will help them increase efficiencies between their many portfolio companies. They admire Naqla’s leadership team and are betting not just on the market’s size, but also on their tenacity and vision.
Techbuild’s Take
Before now, Egypt’s commerce was mostly offline, controlled by small and informal shops who purchased in person for the majority of their goods and whose consumers did the same.
Supply chain digitalization has been aided by the Egyptian government’s tens of billions of dollars in new transportation infrastructure investments, as well as the upsurge in internet adoption. With the rise of online shopping, delivery services and digital payment services have increased. Live routing, message updates, contactless delivery technology, and connected platforms that span order processing to completion has all become commonplace.
Effectiveness and digitization are already paying off in Egypt’s logistics sector. Private businesses are also making a significant contribution to the sector’s growth.
The growing importance of Egypt’s building and consumer goods industries has increased the need for trucking, which currently employs 2% of the workforce and accounts for 3-4 percent of GDP – $13 billion in Egypt and $45 billion across the Mena region. Many of Egypt’s 1.5 million trucks are owned by individual drivers, whom Naqla hopes to sign up for its Carrier space, which includes roadside help, financing, insurance, health care, and maintenance.
The profits of this investment will be used to advance Naqla’s commitment to improving technology and digitization, putting the firm in a strong position for expansion and development in 2022.
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