To expand into new areas and enhance its goods and services before its anticipated initial public offering (IPO), Trukker, which offers an Uber-like digital network for lorries and pick-up vehicles in the Mena region, has raised $100 million in financing.
According to Trukker, Bahrain-based alternative investment firm Investcorp led the Series-C late-stage expansion capital round with a $51 million investment.
Along with Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Valley Capital, Egypt’s Reliance Group, and Iraq’s March Holding, Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi, an existing stakeholder in the project, made a follow-on investment in the most recent round.
In light of the present business climate in the area, closing a late-stage venture round is a big accomplishment for the organization and its leadership, said Trukker founder and CEO Gaurav Biswas.
It says a lot about the company’s strong foundations and steady development trajectory.
The most recent round of funding follows a series of technological advancements, business expansions, and market expansions in the Middle East, where the company is based, as well as in Turkey and other Central Asian countries.
By expanding further into both existing and new areas, the company hopes to spur growth and “democratize access to new-age trucking,” according to the statement.
A sizeable portion of the money raised will be utilized to develop new goods and services that will further automate its freight network.
The difficulties of a supply chain that is centered on land freight have been learned and remembered, according to Mr. Biswas.
According to a Frost & Sullivan report, the worldwide road freight business will rise over the next few decades to reach $3.1 trillion in 2020.
The Covid-19 pandemic-related lockdowns and movement restrictions severely hurt the business, but according to the firm, road freight income will increase internationally from 2020 to 2025 by an average of 4.3 percent per year.
The epidemic has made the logistics industry’s problems more apparent, like the lack of shipping containers and freight backlogs, which have prompted start-ups like Trukker to disrupt the market with digital solutions.
The Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund of Investcorp, which concentrates on businesses largely based in Saudi Arabia with the potential to reach the public markets within three years, served as the lead investor in Trukker’s most recent investment round.
Walid Majdalani, head of private equity, Mena and Southeast Asia at Investcorp, said, “We are excited to add Trukker to our portfolio and are keen to work with the founders of this regional champion to explore a possible market listing, as a continuation of our strategy and in line with our track record.
To capitalize on the growing potential of the region, Mr. Biswas told The National in December 2020 that Trukker is considering a prospective listing on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul stock exchange.
Anish Garg, COO at Trukker, said in an interview with The National on Wednesday that a stock market listing is “a major milestone” and that “a lot of things have to happen before we take that step.”
But he declined to indicate when the prospective IPO will happen, saying, “But that is the eventual aim.”
In the recent past, Trukker has received money through several loans and equity rounds to accelerate growth and widen its worldwide reach.
The business received $96 million in series B equity and debt financing in February. Mubadala participated in the equity portion of the funding, which was led by the Abu Dhabi holding company ADQ and the Saudi Arabian venture capital fund STV.
The company has secured a $50 million venture debt from San Francisco-based Partners for Growth, which is supported by the Silicon Valley Bank, and Mars Growth, a partnership between Liquidity Group and MUFG.
It entered the business-to-business market in 2018 and now serves more than 700 enterprise customers throughout the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman, and Turkey with a fleet of more than 40,000 vehicles.
Image Credit: Trukker
