Trukker, the Abu Dhabi-headquartered largest digital freight network in the Middle East and North African (MENA) markets, has entered into a deal to acquire Trucksher, a Pakistan-based digital freight booking platform.
The acquisition deal, a first for the UAE and Saudi-backed startup venture for geographic expansion, is part of Trukker’s ambitious plans to step into the South Asian country and boost growth. The company did not disclose the value of the deal but said that the funding would come from its internal resources.
“We have been doing our feasibility and analysis of the Pakistan land freight sector for some time now and are very excited with the opportunity it offers to digitization and adaptation of technology in this fragmented and traditional sector,” Mr. Anish Garg, Trukker’s chief operating officer, said.
Trukker, which currently operates a fleet of more than 35,000 trucks in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, was set up in 2016 and is backed by prominent investors from the MENA region, including Saudi Arabia’s STV, Riyad Taqnia fund, and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation. Silicon Valley-based Partners for Growth is also supporting the company.
Pakistan’s TruckSher started its operations earlier this year and raised seed investment from Lahore-based venture capital firm Sarmayacar. The company has a presence in Karachi and Lahore with planned expansion across major industrial zones and ports in Pakistan.
“We are very excited to work with Trukker and look forward to accelerating our growth in Pakistan and learn from the success achieved in the MENA region,” Mr. Abid Butt, TruckSher’s managing director, said.
The acquisition will help Trukker to get a head start in Pakistan, and probably also in Afghanistan as Truksher offers its services to logistic and supply chain companies in that country.
In recent years, startups within the digital freight space have seen a business boom as demand for digital solutions within the logistics sector rises. The use of digital solutions within the freight and logistics sector could reduce operating costs by 10 percent to 30 percent and reduce operational risk and breakdowns by up to 75 percent, according to a report by Strategy&.
