Kobo360, an African digital logistics platform, on Wednesday announced the completion of a 30 million dollar (about N10.5 billion) fundraise, led by Goldman Sachs.
The Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Obi Ozor, in a statement issued in Lagos said that with the funding, the team would continue to scale the organisation, develop the technology offering and accelerate supply growth.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kobo360 is a digital logistics platform that aggregates end-to-end haulage operations to help cargo owners, truck owners and drivers, and cargo recipients to achieve an efficient supply chain framework.
The platform was launched in 2017 by Nigerian entrepreneurs, Obi Ozor and Ife Oyedele.
“Kobo360 has announced the completion of a 20 million dollar Series A equity round led by Goldman Sachs.
“This is with participation from Asia Africa Investment and Consulting Pte. and existing investors including TLcom Capital, Y Combinator, the International Finance Corporation.
“An additional 10 million dollar in local currency working capital financing has been secured from Nigerian commercial banks,” he said.
Ozor added that the organisation was planning to add 25,000 drivers to the platform in the coming months to power the recent Africa Free Trade Continental Agreement, expected to catalyze intra-African trade.
He noted that Kobo360 was also planning to significantly broaden its reach in Africa, entering 10 new countries by the end of 2020 beyond its footprint in Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Kenya.
Ozor disclosed that the company had moved over 500 million kilogrammes of goods, aggregated a fleet of over 10,000 drivers and trucks, and serviced SMEs and over 80 large enterprises.
He listed some of the entreprises as Dangote Group, DHL, Unilever, Olam, African Industries, Flour Mills of Nigeria, and Lafarge.
“Our Series A allows us to invest in growing our talented team that is working hard on the ground to systematically address the inefficiencies within the African logistics sector.
“We are also focusing on developing the partnership with drivers, ensuring that they are trained to use mobile-enabled technology, so they can convey goods seamlessly and earn more money.
“We are already seeing drivers running trips on the Kobo360 platform increase their monthly earnings by 40 per cent, as we work together to mobilise logistics across Africa,” he said.
Ozor added that Kobo360 was also developing a suite of driver-focused products to support the over 10,000 drivers on the Kobo360 platform.
Jules Frebault of Goldman Sachs said that they would support the team to harness technology to tackle one of Africa’s most pressing development challenges.
The Senior Partner of TLcom Capital, Omobola Johnson said that they see the Series A round as a means to support the company in using technology to actively solve problems for enterprises across the continent.
Wale Ayeni, who heads venture investing in Africa for the International Finance Corporation, said that IFC’s continuous investment into Kobo360 stems from the company’s successful track record.