Trella, a fast-growing digital freight marketplace in MENAP (Middle East-North Africa-Pakistan), recently announced the successful completion of a US$ 42mn funding round, comprising US$ 30mn new equity and US$ 12mn debt facilities.
The equity element was led by Maersk Growth, the corporate venture arm of global multinational AP Moller–Maersk, and Raed Ventures, a Saudi Arabian Venture Capital firm.
Trella is a technology platform ‘reinventing trucking’across emerging markets, and has a current market presence in three countries; its home market-Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, according to a corporate press communiqué.
Significant road-freight market
The MENAP Road Freight market is a significant one, worth US$ 50bn. Proceeds will be used by Trella to invest in tech capacity and product development to fuel growth, accelerate the company’s journey to reducing the costs of moving goods, and continue being the regional market leader, the press note added.
Shippers can book directly and access a transparent pricing structure. Shipments can be tracked in real-time, and receive analytics on transportation performance. For truck drivers, Trella improves efficiency as freight is moved intelligently, which boosts carriers’ earnings and creates job opportunities, according to company sources.
Trella’s four co-founders include Omar Hagrass, CEO, formerly part of Uber’s Expansion Team in the EMEA region; Ali El Atrash, COO; Pierre Saad, Chief Technology Officer, and Muhammad El Garem, a former Business Development Manager, OLX.
“We have a strong diversity of investors and we thank all participants for their support. It is great to have Maersk, as a shipper customer that uses Trella, invested in our future growth,” affirmed Hagrass.
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