Kenyan tech-enabled logistics platform, Amitruck, providing shippers to streamline the shipping market has secured $4 million.
The startup, which has successfully been established in Kenya, is looking to strengthen its operations, technical and sales team to prepare the grounds for its entry into Uganda and Tanzania markets, after securing $4 million in seed funding bringing the total funds secured to date to $5 million.
The expansion plan is its step toward becoming the regional go-to platform for transporters and shippers doing in-country and cross-border business.
Mark Mwangi, founder and CEO of Amitruck, has stated that hiring is the most important purpose of the round.
He added that they are also looking to improve their technology as they start their expansion into other countries in Africa.
The seed round which was led by Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV), also had other participants such as; Dynamo Ventures, Flexport Inc, Rackhouse Venture Capital, Knuru Capital, Uncovered Fund, Launch Africa Ventures and a number of angel investors.
Jake Gibson, BTV’S general partner, said, “Our knowledge of the operational and financial requirements from truckers runs deep as we are a unicorn investor in CloudTruck startup here in the US”
Although the logistic and trucking business in Africa has seen tremendous growth over the years, the pace of innovation, especially in its administration, has been slow.
We believe Amitruck’s solution to ideal for offering 21st-century service in the industry, he added.
Founded and launched in 2019, as a marketplace for digital logistics, Amitruck connects shippers with transporters handling trucks, tuk-tuks (three-wheelers), vans, motorbikes, and pick-ups, allowing them to negotiate haulage rates.
Shippers can also customize services on the platform, for example, they can add off-loading charges.
There’s a section for transporter’s rating and the mean number of trips made on the platform, general data that can assist shippers to make better choices. Once both parties reach an agreement, the process begins.
Techbuild’s Take
For years, the shipping business in Africa has been grossly inefficient and costly due to the lack of innovation in the ways operations are managed.
It’s been mostly traditional, in the sense that shippers have to physically look for a transporter, sometimes going through middlemen, and often, the truck always return empty once goods are delivered.
For a continent like Africa, where goods are mostly ferried by roads, any inefficiencies and difficulties encountered means that prices of goods will go higher for the end-customer.
However, over the last decade, the sector has seen some efficiency, thanks to tech solutions. These solutions help make shipping cheaper while increasing the options available to shippers.
Amitruck, has proven to be one of such tech solutions revolutionizing the shipping and transportation sector.
They’ve achieved success in Kenya, and we believe they will achieve similar success in Uganda and Tanzania as they look to expand.
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