The freight trucking market in Africa & the Middle East is estimated to be worth $250 billion. However, 85% of the same is carried out through established legacy partnerships between shippers and carriers and run with manual and inefficient tools. Eventually, there is space for the logistics startups that want to disrupt the market by letting shippers connect with their entire logistics ecosystem efficiently and in real-time.
One such startup in this segment is Freterium, a Transport Management Software provider headquartered in Morocco, which connects people, organisations and technologies in the logistics value chain to help them move things.
$4M funding
Now, Freterium just nabbed $4 million in a seed funding round. The investment round was led by Partech along with participation from Y Combinator, Flexport, CDG Invest, Swiss Founders Fund, Outlierz Ventures and Business Angels from the U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa.
The company intends to use the funds for its tech and product development and to fuel growth and serve more companies in Africa and the Middle East. Freterium is in plans to double the size of the team within the next 12 months. With this funding round, Freterium has become one of the most funded startups in the emerging Moroccan ecosystem.
“This $4 million funding round is an endorsement of our unique model and approach, our team’s capabilities and the tremendous market opportunity. We are grateful for the support of the finest investors that share our vision and our values. The timing is right to scale our product across the region and beyond. For most companies, logistics challenges have become a boardroom conversation. We are already trusted by leaders in their respective industries, and we look forward to putting our product at the disposal of many small and large players that need us.” said Mehdi Cherif Alami, CEO and co-founder of Freterium.
“Freterium has built a holistic approach to solving the key challenges of the industry with a next generation cloud-based Transport Management Software (TMS) allowing shippers to connect efficiently with their entire logistics ecosystem and collaborate in real time. We are excited to support them in their mission to empower manufacturers, retailers and logistics teams across Africa” commented Cyril Collon, General Partner at Partech.
“The value proposition of Freterium is unique and we are convinced that their product will significantly impact the industry. It’s a Moroccan gem that we are proud to support in its development and growth.” said Yassine Haddaoui, Managing Partner at CDG Invest.
Y Combinator alumni!
Freterium was founded in 2020 by Mehdi Cherif Alami (CEO) and Omar El Kouhene (CPO). The co-founders have previously worked in the consulting and logistics segment, helping global and local players with their strategy and operations.
Already, Freterium has experienced a rapid growth in 2021 and has opened a new office in the UAE to address neighbouring markets in the region. Currently, it over has 20 enterprise customers and its software is used by over 3,000 users.
Notably, Freterium graduated from the prestigious Y Combinator program last summer (participated by MindFi). Some of its notable rivals include California-based enVista, Trax, and more.
What does Freterium do?
The core product of Freterium is a next-generation Transport Management Software, which connects shippers that helps them cut time and shipping costs by connecting and collaborating with their team efficiently. It is aimed at any company that delivers products on a daily basis, including manufacturers, distributors, retailers and logistics providers across industries. It helps these companies manage all of their shipments in just a few clicks on Freterium´s intuitive interface.
Freterium boosts productivity, reduces transport costs and improves customer satisfaction, be it first to last mile, for modern or traditional trade, using a fleet or chartered carriers.
