Trukkr, a fintech platform for Pakistan’s trucking industry, announced on Tuesday that it had collected $6.4 million in a financing round and got an NBFC licence.
The seed fundraising round was headed by Accion Venture Lab and Sturgeon Capital, both based in the United States.
Trukkr said in a statement that Haitou Global, Al Zayani Venture Capital, and investor Peter Findley also participated in the round.
Trukkr offers small and medium-sized trucking enterprises in Pakistan a transport management system and supply chain solutions, as well as fintech to digitise the industry, which is primarily unbanked and undocumented.
Similar to Kargo in Indonesia, Solvento in Mexico, and Kobo 360 in Africa, but modified for the Pakistani market.
Trukkr reported that fewer than 5% of trucking companies using its network had access to financial services, leaving them unable to finance expenses like gasoline, tolls, and truck upkeep.
Sheryar Bawany, CEO and co-founder of Trukkr, told Reuters that the company intended to provide financial products with a “reasonable risk-adjusted spread” relative to the benchmark Karachi Interbank Offered Rate (KIBOR).
Mishal Adamjee, co-founder of Trukkr, stated that there are over 20,000 drivers on the platform, servicing 100 of the country’s largest enterprises, including Shan Foods, Artistic Milliners, International Industries Limited, and Lucky Cement.
Despite poor rail and water freight facilities, according to Adamjee, Pakistan’s $35 billion trucking business grows by 10% annually.
Accion Venture Lab, an investor, stated that the Covid epidemic demonstrated how dependent the globe is on global supply networks. In a statement, the business said, “We want to bet on a company that strives to address inefficiencies in a market ripe with opportunities.”
Pakistan’s Board of Investment predicts that freight transport demand would quadruple by 2025 and expand sixfold to 600 billion freight tonnes-kilometers by 2050, particularly if the China Pakistan Economic Corridor becomes operational.
In Pakistan, further freight marketplace startups include Truck It In, BridgeLinx, and Freightix.
