Dubai-based online freight marketplace Lorryz has raised $1.4 million in a seed round, it told MENAbytes today. The investment came from Emirates Investment and Development Center and i-Cell Telecom Group.
Founded last year by Adnan Ahmad, Lorryz connects cargo owners with truckers (both individuals and companies), allowing them to book trucks to move their cargo in the United Arab Emirates & Pakistan.
Adnan Ahmad, the founder and CEO of Lorryz comes from a liner shipping and logistics background with over fifteen years of experience in the industry. Prior to starting Lorryz, he was serving as a Senior Vice President of Global Feeders, a Dubai-based shipping company with operations across the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Adnan had started his career as a master mariner and left the sea after ten years of service.
For truck drivers and transportation companies, the startup says, it helps with lead generation and eliminating waste at backhaul by matching demand with supply, providing more business and improving carbon footprint.
In the United Arab Emirates, Lorryz is offering its services to businesses only, helping them ship their cargo within the country and overseas in Saudi. In Pakistan, Lorryz is currently running a pilot of B2C services allowing individuals to book trucks for moving heavy items.
Lorryz’ app (that’s available for both Android and iOS), the startup claims, offers real-time tracking (for cargo owners to track their shipment), instant pricing. The startup also offers operational dashboard reports for both cargo owners and truckers.
The startup told MENAbytes that it already has hundreds of trucks in its network and is currently serving multiple businesses in the United Arab Emirates.
Lorryz aims to keep adding more countries for its cross-border shipment service from UAE with a focus on GCC and also launch its B2B service in Pakistan within the next few months.
The startup plans to use the investment to further improve its tech and its expansion, “After GCC and Pakistan, we are also looking to expand to niche markets like Kenya and Iraq to leverage our connections in such markets where barriers of entry are high,” said Adnan in a conversation with MENAbytes.
There are multiple tech players operating in this space already including Trukker that recently raised a massive $23 million Series A so it won’t be a smooth sail for Adnan and his team.
