This archive report was first published on 11 November 2019.
Published on November 11, 2019, Lori Systems, a pan-African logistics platform, has secured $30 million in a Series A funding round led by Chinese investors Hillhouse Capital Group and Crystal Stream Capital.
The investment round also saw participation from Apoletto Asia, the investment vehicle of DST Global's Russian billionaire founder Yuri Milner, seed stage-focused venture capital firm Timon Capital, investment firm Raba VC, innovative co-investment vehicle Endeavors Catalyst, and others.
Launched in May 2017 in Kenya, Lori Systems operates as an online platform that connects cargo owners with truck fleets, helping them increase the utilization of trucking assets and realize on-time delivery to lower costs of goods in Africa.
The company now offers services in East African countries including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as in West Africa's Ghana and Nigeria, where it officially forayed into in late September 2019.
According to Wang Mengqiu, founding partner of Crystal Stream Capital, the company conducted field visits and investigations to conclude that it is the best time to make investments in Africa, due to the region's rapid economic growth, demographic dividend, and booming mobile internet.
