Chargel, a logistics tech startup based in Senegal, has secured $2.5 million in seed funding to expand its platform and drive growth across Africa. The round was led by Logos Ventures, with participation from Ventures Platform, Foundation Botnar, DFS Labs, and Seedstars, as well as $500,000 in debt. This funding comes after the company raised $750,000 last year and brings the total raised to $3.75 million.
With the successful seed funding round, Chargel is set to expand its platform to more shippers in Senegal and is exploring expansion into one other Francophone African country.
Why The Investors Invested
The investors were drawn to Chargel because of the company’s innovative approach to logistics, which addresses the inefficiencies in the trucking business. Here are some critical reasons why the investors chose to invest in Chargel:
- Chargel’s founders, Moustapha and Alioune Ndoye, have a successful track record in entrepreneurship, having sold their hospitality tech startup, Teranga, in 2018. Actually, Chargel is the brothers’ fourth attempt at entrepreneurship after they returned to the country upon completing their studies in the U.S.
- Chargel’s platform is scalable, enabling the company to expand its reach and services beyond Senegal. This is confirmed by the traction the startup has genered so far. In 2022 alone, Chargel did over $1.2 million in gross merchandise value (GMV), and Moustapha Ndoye said the company is on track to surpass that figure this year.
- The company’s growth potential is fueled by the expected trade boom in Africa, driven by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the single largest unrestricted trade region in the world.
- The trucking industry in Africa is set to grow significantly, with freight demand expected to increase by 28% by the end of the decade, creating a huge demand for Chargel’s services.
- Chargel has already secured some of the world’s largest shipping companies, Maersk and Grimaldi, as its earliest clients, demonstrating the viability of its platform.
Chargel’s founders have a deep understanding of the logistics sector in Senegal and are committed to addressing the challenges faced by truck owners and operators.
A Look At What Chargel Does
Chargel was founded by Senegalese brothers Moustapha and Alioune Ndoye, who previously sold their hospitality tech startup, Teranga, in 2018. They entered the trucking business and identified fleet management as a major challenge affecting truck-owners’ earnings. After researching the market, they founded Chargel to match shippers with transporters and digitize processes that were previously largely offline.
Chargel expedites the entire transport process by matching clients’ online requests with the most suitable providers from its network of transporters, which includes independent truck drivers. The platform also allows clients to track their goods in real-time while on the move and receive notifications once delivery is complete. Chargel is also responsible for the cargo, making sure it reaches its destination on time.
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The company is rapidly gaining traction, with some of the world’s largest shipping companies, such as Maersk and Grimaldi, among its earliest clients. Chargel’s growth plan includes opening up its platform to more shippers in Senegal and expanding to one other Francophone African country. The transporters, based in Senegal, currently make deliveries to neighboring countries Mali, Guinea, and Mauritania. By establishing full operations in another country, Chargel aims to increase regional coverage and solve many of the challenges related to road freight.
Moustapha Ndoye, co-founder of Chargel, said that the demand for their services is not limited to Senegal. Many of their clients, such as Maersk, serve nine countries out of the Senegalese office and want Chargel to expand its operations to those countries as well. He added that Chargel gives transporters access to other services such as insurance, providing them with new earning opportunities.
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Chargel’s success is driven by the inefficiencies in the trucking business that the company has addressed with technology. The logistics sector in Senegal and other African countries is fragmented, and Chargel’s platform provides a streamlined process that enables transporters to earn more while allowing shippers to focus on their businesses. Additionally, the expected trade boom in Africa is set to further grow the demand for trucking services, and Chargel is well-positioned to take advantage of this growth.
Chargel trucking Africa Chargel trucking Africa
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard