Investor Updates: March 10 2022 - Naqla raises $10.5m for its Egyptian logistics platform

Naqla raises $10.5m for its Egyptian logistics platform

Highlights

• Egyptian trucking logistics startup Naqla has raised a $10.5 million pre-Series A funding round led by El Sewedy Capital Holding (SCH), Hassan Allam Holding (HAH), and the Sallam family to allow it to further expand in 2022.
• Founded by Sherif Taher and Samer Sallam in 2017, Naqla is an app-based technology marketplace connecting truck owners with cargo companies. 
• The startup’s goal is to modernize and expand Egypt’s supply chain by automating orders between shippers and drivers.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

In Egypt and the broader North African region, tech-driven e-commerce and logistics have been on a sensational boom. Naqla for instance has seen rapid growth into more than 35 active zones, overseeing the movement and delivery of over 4.6 million tonnes of cargo so far, and is currently working with more than 400 shippers and 10,500 drivers across Egypt. In late January, logistics provider Milezmore raised $5 million in pre-seed financing.

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Egyptian e-health startup Chefaa secures funding for expansion

Highlights

• Egyptian e-health startup Chefaa has raised an undisclosed amount of funding to help it expand its network, release a new product, and launch in new markets.
• Founded in 2017 by Rasha Rady and Doaa Aref, Chefaa is an e-pharmacy platform that provides an end-to-end healthcare experience.
• The startup offers compliant, ethical, and patient-centric services to users through several services, including its main platform and an app. The funding comes from Newtown Partners and Global Brain, as well as GMS Capital Partners.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

Africa still has a long way to go in terms of tech-driven healthcare services compared to the rest of the world. But since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, there’s been increasing activity within that space in the region, with a number of startups now providing innovations bedeviling Africa’s healthcare system and foreign investors incrementally backing them. In addition, this is the first move into the Egyptian market for all of the three investors in Chefaa.

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Antler closes oversubscribed East Africa fund at $13.5m

Highlights

• Early-stage investor Antler has closed its oversubscribed East Africa investment fund at $13.5 million to continue to support early-stage tech startups in the region. 
• Antler is the world’s most active early-stage investor, supporting hundreds of technology startups and thousands of entrepreneurs across six continents. To date, the company has invested in more than 400 companies in over 30 industries.
• Leading investors such as Baillie Gifford, institutional investors such as IFC, and family offices like Canica participated in the round.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

Antler East Africa’s first venture building cohort was launched in August 2019, and to date, the company has run five full cohorts totaling 153 founders and made 14 investments. Starting this month, it is embarking on a new, community-driven platform approach where it will accept founders and teams on a rolling basis. The company plans to make 35 new investments over the coming three years, and to do so closed its East Africa at $13.5 million, way above its $10 million target.