Africa’s freight traffic has added strength.

According to foreign media reports, Kenyan freight company Sendy recently received a $ 20 million Series B financing led by Atlantica Ventures. Also participating in the follow-up investment are Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Asia Africa Investment, Sunu Capital, Enza Capital, Vested World, Kepple Capital, etc., which is responsible for overseas investment operations under the Toyota Group. Kenya’s largest telecommunications operator, Safaricom, also participated in Sendy’s early investments. According to Crunchbase data, Sendy currently has a total funding of $ 27.5 million.

Sendy is a B2B logistics company founded in 2015 by Meshack Alloys and others. It is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and currently has branches in Uganda and Tanzania.

The company aims to serve e-commerce platforms and other business owners. According to the official website, customers only need to select a location and a delivery model and place an order on the platform. There will be a corresponding contracted driver and owner responsible for delivery. Staff position. Sendy’s delivery models include motorcycles, pickups, trucks, and trucks. Alloys told TechCrunch that there are currently more than 5,000 delivery vehicles on the platform. Its service customers include American transportation company DHL, Danish transportation company Maersk, Safaricom, and Jumia, Africa’s largest e-commerce platform.

Sendy’s profit model is to take part of the commission from each transaction, and also provide insurance and vehicle maintenance services for platform drivers.

For the B round of financing, the company will use it to recruit employees and upgrade its technology. In addition, Sendy will expand its business to West Africa in 2020.

In 2019, the African logistics track is becoming a hot spot. Two younger freight companies than Sendy have performed particularly well-Kobo360 and Lori System.

In August 2019, the two-year-old Nigerian freight company Kobo360 completed a $ 20 million Series A financing. This round of financing was led by Goldman Sachs. Y Combinator, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and TLcom Capital Partners, which previously participated in the investment, also followed suit. After this round of financing, Kobo360’s total financing amount reached 37.3 million US dollars. At the time, reports said that with this round of funding, Kobo360 will open up 10 new countries. As for the specific countries, the company will make the final decision in the first quarter of 2020.

with SThe endy difference is that the transport vehicles on the Kobo360 platform are mainly trucks, and the company claims that there are tens of thousands of trucks and drivers on the platform. In addition, its base camp is also located in Nigeria, West Africa, and its business scope is mainly concentrated in West Africa, including Togo, Ghana and other places. However, in August 2019, Kobo360 also entered Kenya and said it would further expand to East African countries such as Uganda and Tanzania. At present, a Ugandan number and email address can be found in the contact information of Kobo360’s official website, which may imply that Kobo360 has established a branch in Uganda.

Kobo360’s entry into East Africa is hard to say has nothing to do with its biggest competitor, Lori. Lori System, a freight company born in Kenya just like Sendy, was established in 2016 and completed in November 2019. A $ 30 million Series A round of financing led by Qingliu Capital and Gaofeng Capital . According to Crunchbase data, its total funding amounted to $ 36.2 million. Its freight business is mainly inter-city vehicles, and its business covers East Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Sudan and other places. It also covers the Central African Republic of Congo. In October 2019, Lori also entered Kobo360’s home base in Nigeria.

Despite “older qualifications,” Sendy, which has just completed financing, is still not as “rich” as its two rivals. However, the US $ 20 million Series B financing will undoubtedly greatly enhance Sendy’s competitiveness in the African freight track. Faced with strong enemies such as Lori and Kobo360 , how does Sendy break the game? Alloys told TechCrunch: “Sendy is a technology leader.”

文 | 雅琪 @ 出海

Edit | 小 纯 @ 出海

Picture | Visual China

Kenya Freight Company Sendy Receives $ 20 Million B Series Financing, African Freight Or Will Usher In The

Kenya Freight Company Sendy Receives US $ 20 Million B Series Financing, African Freight Or Will Usher In The