Nigeria-based digital freight forwarding company OnePort365 is eyeing regional expansion after successfully raising US$5-million in seed funding.
The African maritime trade is set to benefit from the company’s services as it offers logistical management of goods at the ports. Users can also compare prices of services, track their goods and make payments all on the platform.
Apart from connecting with shipping and inland transportation vendors, traders get GPS-enabled, real-time visibility of their shipments and they can view all documents relating to the shipment via the platform, eliminating the laborious process of physically retrieving these documents from offices or shipping line centres.
“The platform also leverages advancements in payment technology and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to power instant payments,” the company stated.
Hio Sola-Usidame, CEO and founder of OnePort 365 said, “We are super excited to have these investors on board to support our mission to optimise cross-border trading across the continent. With new regulations like the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement creating the potential for a new era of trade on the continent, we want to make it easier for traders to maximise the opportunity.”
According to Partech Africa’s Tech VC report for 2021, Logistictech companies have grown over the years, especially in Nigeria where their funding took approximately 38% of the total funding in the country.
Overall, Logistics companies raised a little under US$400-million last year.
Analysis by The Baobab Network depicted a growing trend. “In August 2021, Alerzo, a transport and logistics company digitising the distribution process for traditional traders and SMEs in Nigeria secured US$10.5 million in a Series A funding round. In North Africa, MaxAb, a B2B food and grocery delivery start-up also announced an additional US$15 million to their Series A funding round closing at over US$60 million as they acquired WaystoCap, a Moroccan counterpart, to expand their regional coverage.”
OnePort365’s seed funding round was led by Mobility, with participation from SBI Investment, Flexport, ODX, a Singaporean syndicate fund and Samurai Incubate.
