Jetstream Africa, a Ghanaian e-logistics company, is on the list and has just announced that it has obtained $13 million in pre-Series A equity and loan investment.
The supply chain visibility platform Project44's executives founded ASCVC, a venture fund, while Octerra, Wuri Ventures, Seed9, The MBA Fund, and Proparco, a French development organization, were the only equity investors. Cauris, a fintech lender and private equity firm, provided all of the debt financing. Golden Palm and Alitheia IDF, two previous investors, also took part.
About 18 months ago, the Tema-based cross-border logistics network reported the closing of a $3 million seed round (including $1 million in debt). In addition to continuing to develop its technology platform, which vertically aggregates fragmented logistics and financing vendors in the world of African trade, Jetstream claims that this new investment will enable it to expand into new countries. Currently, it operates in 29 (12 of them in Africa).
At the time of its seed round, Jetstream Africa operated in two business segments: one offered logistical services to cargo owners dealing with import and export, and the other distributed funding to freight forwarders. To serve exclusively freight owners, Jetstream has, however, combined the two offerings in recent months. Jetstream has achieved product-market fit, according to the startup's CEO, Miishe Addy.
A freight forwarder is now the new business model for Jetstream. The business now participates in the whole transportation of shippers' goods (both import and export), levies a fee, and—most importantly—provides financing to individuals in need. Most freight company owners often go to banks to get a letter of credit when they need to borrow money to operate their company. This is the standard process. The bank of their counterparty determines whether or not they get it. To explain: Imagine a transaction between a Ghanaian importer and a Chinese exporter. The bank in Ghana receives cedis and communicates with the exporter's bank in China, which, after certifying the cargo owner, disburses the yuan.
Since securing its first $1 million in financing in the middle of 2021, Jetstream has expanded its trade finance offering to include the issuance of almost $9 million in loans. According to Addy, it plans to boost that sum by a factor of five by the year's end. The CEO also said that since adopting the new business model, Jetstream has increased the number of loans it issues each month to as many as fifty. Furthermore, the e-logistics firm has seen a 48 percent year-over-year increase in revenue and a 102% increase in active clients, according to a statement released to the public. The company processes shipments that comprise 47% air freight, 44% ocean freight, and 9% ground transport.
Play audio
No comments