Lori Raises Round B Funding Through Google

Financial Times’ seventh fastest growing company in Africa, Lori Systems, has raised an undisclosed amount of Round B funding from Google. The Kenyan-based e-logistics company operates across East Africa.

This new investment is part of Google’s $50 Million Africa Investment Fund announced by CEO Sundar Pichai last October.

Lori Systems is working to lower the cost of transportation for commodities across Africa and aims to expand to the entire continent. It connects shippers to transporters, providing them with solutions to help them efficiently manage their cargo through digitized systems.

“We’re excited to have Google as a partner as we continue to build the operating system for emerging market logistics. Our vision of the future of logistics in Africa is one that is digital, scalable and more efficient,” said Lori Systems CEO Uche Ogboi.

“We have been successful, achieving up to 20% price reduction for cargo owners and nearly 2x increase in truck utilization for transporters on our platform. We are excited about this funding as it will allow us to continue driving superior efficiencies across logistics on the continent,” he added.

The amount of funding the company raised from Google was not disclosed, but it’s expected to go a long way in facilitating the company’s expansion efforts.

On his part, Nitin Gajria, Google’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, said that the tech giant understands the transformative power digitization can bring to the African continent.

“The region has so much potential, but innovation can unlock this. Lori Systems is a great example of how technology can be scalable across Africa and how, in turn, this can drive meaningful economic development,” said Nitin.