Digital freight platform TruKKer says it has secured $23 million in Series A funding with Saudi Technology Ventures (STV) leading its new backers.
In a statement, the firm revealed that the funding round included participation from International Finance Corporation (IFC), Endeavor Catalyst Fund and MEVP, as new investors to the platform, as well as participation from existing investors including Riyad TAQNIA Fund, Oman Technology Fund, Iliad Partners, and Shorooq Ventures.
Trukker is continuing its aggressive growth in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the rest of the GCC and is also in the process of going live in Egypt, Jordan and other countries in the region. The cash injection will now be re-invested to grow the team, enhance experience and strengthen its operating infrastructure across the road freight network in the region.
“The latest funding round will be instrumental as we target significant strengthening of our operations, infrastructure, expansion of our team and further enhancements to our technology and R&D,” said founder Gaurav Biswas. “We’re tremendously excited to work with STV and all of the co-investors who are supporting our vision and enabling us to continue to grow in the region. We are evolving rapidly to become the region’s trucking freight exchange that facilitates transparency and efficiencies based commercial advantages for our users.”
TruKKer was founded in the UAE in 2016, the platform has experienced rapid growth and currently operates across GCC and Jordan with 15,000+ member trucks servicing more than 200 clients. It enables instant booking, real time demand and supply matching, digital price discovery, cargo tracking, and digitisation of document processing of land freight.
The application matches supply with demand across the company’s platform. It connects transporters with consumers and commercial enterprises to provide a convenient and cost-effective logistics service. TruKKer’s focus is primarily on road freight and it services long haul cross-country, port movements and last mile deliveries of large and bulky cargo.
TruKKer’s co-founder and CTO, Pradeep Mallavarapu added: “We are a transportation operating business with a technology DNA. We provide the necessary visibility and key data metrics on thousands of trucks on our network and we match demand for trucks with reliable transporters who are looking for business. Our solutions that are focussed on enhancing the experience for both the transporters and the cargo owners focused on improved efficiencies. This means regular jobs and prompt payments, better livelihood and convenience for our transporters alongside high levels of reliability, analytics, and lower transportation costs for the cargo owners.”
Ahmad AlNaimi, STV Investment Principal, described TruKKer as bringing efficiency to a logistics market that is ripe for disruption.
“Adoption for a digital freight platform has grown significantly,” he said. “There is substantial demand from customers for better freight management, driven by data and information all situated in one platform. TruKKer has all the attributes to become a leader in the Middle East land transportation sector and will use this funding to go after the regions’ logistics sector, which is set to reach $66 billion by 2020.”
