Amitruck Secures $4M Seed Funding To Accelerate Expansion Across Africa

Kenyan logistics startup Amitruck has secured $4 million in seed funding to lay grounds for expansion across Africa.

Amitruck, founded in 2019, is a trucking logistics marketplace that allows transporters (owners of motorbikes, pick-ups, vans, and trucks) to find and connect with shippers through its mobile and web applications.

Transporters bid for work on the platform, ensuring competitive prices, while cargo owners have convenient access to a range of competitive offers and can choose a transporter based on price, rating, and experience. With direct this direct connection, middlemen are eliminated thus costs are reduced.

The new funding was led by Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV), with the participation of Dynamo Ventures, Rackhouse Venture Capital, Flexport Inc, Knuru Capital, Launch Africa Ventures, Uncovered Fund and a number of angel investors.

Amitruck’s CEO and Founder, Mark Mwangi, said the funding will be used to lead the startup’s expansion across Africa and to hire teams across its technical, operations, and sales units, including senior leadership.

“We are thrilled about the positive response that Amitruck has received from cargo owners and transporters alike. Transport touches on almost every sector of the African economy and is crucial to its development; we are excited to be part of that journey. Thanks to the support from our investors, we look forward to expanding our footprint across Africa and bringing more carriers and shippers to our marketplace,” he said.

BTV’s General Partner Jake Gibson said Amitruck was selected for investment due to its high level of innovation and a growing need for its services.

“As an investor in unicorn CloudTruck startup here in the US, we have in-depth knowledge of the operational and financial requirements from truckers. While the trucking and logistic business in Africa has grown tremendously over the years, the pace of innovation particularly in its administration has been slow. Amitruck’s solution is ideal for bringing the industry into the 21st century.” he said.

According to the company, its database grow to over 8,000 vehicles, which have in just over two years completed almost 100,000 deliveries for more than 300 corporate clients.

The African trucking and logistics market, which is largely informal, fragmented, and based on archaic manual systems, accounts for almost 80 per cent of transported goods. The cost of transportation remains five times higher than in developed countries, and the final cost of goods can be up to 60 per cent more.