Karachi, Pakistan, March 7th, 2023 – Trukkr, a fintech platform for Pakistan’s trucking industry, announced today that it has raised $6.4 million in a seed round led by Accion Venture Lab and Sturgeon Capital, with participation from Peter Findley, Haitou Global and Al Zayani Venture Capital.
Trukkr’s SaaS platform provides supply chain solutions and financial products to Pakistan’s small and medium-sized trucking companies that are historically underserved. Less than 5% of trucking companies using Trukkr’s platform have access to financial services, and often must wait up to 90 days for payment for services rendered, leaving companies unable to cover expenses such as fuel, tolls, and truck maintenance. Trukkr fills this critical gap in financing by using logistics data to underwrite loans to trucking companies, enabling them to scale their businesses and increase revenues. Companies are also able to track their expenses, access invoices, and bid on job opportunities via Trukkr’s digital app.
Trukkr also addresses pain points for large suppliers with its proprietary SaaS product, allowing supplier clients to digitally connect with trucking companies to transport their goods, track their shipments as they move, and optimize efficiency. Over the past 12 months, the company has added more than 20,000 trucking companies onto the Trukkr Platform.
“Trukkr was founded to drive financial inclusion for an underserved sector that is the lifeblood of Pakistan – logistics. Pakistan is a largely industrial and agrarian export-based economy, and being a largely fragmented sector, we have worked incredibly hard at the grassroots level to build trust and digitize the 350,000+ independent operators that constitute more than 90% of all truck drivers in Pakistan,” said Sheryar Bawany, CEO and Co-Founder of Trukkr.
“We’re extremely excited to bring onboard amazing partners as we continue our growth and expansion. We have built a powerful engine of growth and inclusion, with a unique origination and underwriting model built for developing markets that has enabled us to grow smartly, safely, and scale-ably across an ever-changing global economic landscape,” added Mishal Adamjee, Co-Founder of Trukkr.
“Truck drivers are the backbone of the Pakistani economy, ferrying essential goods and services across the country, but formal financial institutions struggle to support these drivers. Trukkr’s logistics platform provides Pakistan’s truck drivers with the digital financial services and products they need to grow their businesses, while also creating a more robust, digitalized supply chain,” said Rahil Rangwala, co-Managing Partner of Accion Venture Lab. “We are excited to support Trukkr’s journey as they transform Pakistan’s logistics market.”
“When we think about fintech lending businesses in emerging markets, two of the key challenges startups must solve for are data and distribution. This data challenge is exacerbated in the opaque, offline trucking market in Pakistan there and the participants have historically been chronically underserved by traditional financial institutions,” said Robin Butler, Partner and Head of Impact at Sturgeon Capital. “Trukkr’s solution to this challenge is unique, powerful, and scalable. Through its software solutions, Trukkr is deeply embedded and integrated into the workflows of both the corporates and the truckers, providing Trukkr with high quality data and a ready distribution channel for working capital and other lending products. Combined with the complimentary depth and breadth of experience across the founding team, Sturgeon is excited to be backing Trukkr as it continues to solve the key pain points of the large and inefficient trucking industry in Pakistan.”
About Trukkr
Trukkr Pvt Ltd. is a fintech company aimed at providing financial inclusive products to the $35b logistics sector in Pakistan through its technology enterprise platform, which allows users to manage their logistics supply chain while providing small and medium sized carriers financial products aimed at improving financial outcomes for a historically underserved market.
About Accion Venture Lab
Accion Venture Lab is a leading early-stage impact investor in inclusive fintech startups, focused on affordable, well-designed financial services that enable economic growth and prosperity for underserved populations in the world. It has invested in more than 60 early-stage startups operating in more than 35 countries, focusing on the most innovative models and technologies delivering quality financial services to underserved households and small businesses with the potential to scale.
Accion Venture Lab is a part of Accion, a global non-profit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a trailblazing legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. Since 1961, Accion has increased access to inclusive financial services for tens of millions of people through its work with more than 200 partners in 63 countries.
For more information, visit accion.org/venturelab.
About Sturgeon Capital
Sturgeon Capital is a London-based VC investing in early-stage technology startups in emerging markets at the beginning of their digital transition. Sturgeon is a for-profit and for-impact investor, and its portfolio companies are solving the fundamental problems affecting the day to day lives of businesses and consumers.