Leta, a Kenyan B2B supply chain and logistics SaaS provider, announced that it has raised $3 million in a pre-seed funding round to expand its operations in its existing operating countries – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe and in new markets in West Africa, specifically Ghana and Nigeria.
Participants in the round include institutional investors such as 4Di Capital, Chandaria Capital, Chui Ventures, PANI, Samurai Incubate, and Verdant Frontiers Fintech and individual investors like Cellulant co-founder Ken Njoroge and Google executive Charles Murito.
Founded by Nick Joshi, Leta uses its proprietary route and load optimization technology to boost efficiency in the delivery of goods to customers, and reduce the number of vehicles needed for distribution, leading to cost savings and increased competitiveness.
Nick founded the company after working with Delivery.com in the US as the VP of product for two years and this experience inspired him to relocate back home to launch Leta, as a transformative support service for businesses, logistics providers and marketplaces in Africa.
Since launch, Leta claims to have optimized over 500,000 deliveries, delivered more than 20,000 tons of goods, and managed 2,000 vehicles.
In a discussion with Techcrunch, Nick Joshi says that “Our next year is going to be fairly big for us. Our product has stabilized and we have a very good understanding of our sales process and our go-to-market strategy. The capital we have raised will help us to quickly scale into new markets beginning with Ghana, where we will launch in December.” He also added that the company is working on a transport marketplace, and fintech products too.
Joshi said Leta has a first mover advantage in the region and will continue to build and refine its technology IP, and products, to serve the massive gaps he sees in the market.
However he will need to contend with competitors like Amitruck who recently raised $4m in seed funding to accelerate the expansion of its digital logistics solutions across Africa
