Egypt’s B2B Trucking Marketplace Trella Loads USD 600 K Led By Algebra Ventures
Cairo based trucking marketplace platform Trella, has raised USD 600k in a pre-seed funding round led by Algebra Ventures, with participation from strategic investors, global VCs, and notable angel investors including Esther Dyson and Jambu Palaniappan.
Founded in 2018 by Omar Hagrass and Pierre Saad, Trella is a b2b technology platform and trucking marketplace that connects shippers with carriers in the highly fragmented freight industry.
To address the pain-point of a fragmented industry faced by asset under-utilisation, team Trella constitutes of Hagrass, CEO, who served as Regional Manager, EMEA Launch and Expansion at Uber, Saad, CTO, previously Technical Lead at Vezeeta and Muhammad El Garem – previously Business Development Manager at OLX.
‘Building on the fantastic success of ride-hailing startups, we built a similar solution for the freight industry in the region to improve efficiency throughout the supply chain,’ says Hagrass. ‘The interest in our solution has been overwhelming, both from businesses who want to use our technology, and from truckers who are getting significantly more value and more consistent flow of business through our platform. We’re optimising truckers’ routes so they’re no longer driving empty.’
‘I’m incredibly excited to invest in Trella as part of their pre-seed funding round,’ says Jambu Palaniappan, former Head of Uber Eats – EMEA. ‘The premise of bringing world class logistics technology to shippers and carriers across Egypt is a strong one, and the Trella team is extremely well equipped to achieve their ambitious goals. I look forward to supporting them along the way.’
‘I love companies that make complex things simpler – but not too simple,’ says angel investor Esther Dyson, executive founder of Wellville. ‘Trella’s combination of Hagrass’ real-world logistics experience and Saad’s tech wizardry is perfect for the task of making the region’s trucking infrastructure more transparent and efficient.’
‘We’re thrilled to be leading this round,’ adds Karim Hussein, Algebra Ventures’ Managing Partner. ‘They’re a superstar team with proven execution ability. The large and highly fragmented freight market in Egypt is ripe for technological disruption. We are excited to be joined by a group of capable and experienced co-investors who will help accelerate Trella’s growth in the short run and support it in subsequent financings.’A
