CloudFret, a Morocco-based company, a revolutionary startup in the transportation and logistics industries, has successfully completed a €2 million ($2.1 million) funding round.
The company received investments from AfriMobility and Azur Innovation Fund, amongst other entities. It initially raised $1 million in 2022, bringing its total to $3.1 million to date after that year’s contribution.
The company, which was established in 2021 by Driss Jabar and is based in Morocco, is planning to swiftly grow its operations, which will include a strategic extension to Marseille. CloudFret plans to more than double the size of its personnel by the year 2024, in keeping with its trajectory of rapid expansion.
CloudFret’s commitment to tackling the inefficiency of empty truck returns within the intra-European market is at the core of the most recent funding drive that the company has undertaken. CloudFret’s cutting-edge platform functions as a mobile Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, and it does so with the help of an AI-driven algorithm. It is aimed to connect shippers and carriers throughout Europe in a seamless manner, which will streamline the process of discovering and scheduling freight transportation.
Read also: Kobo360 appoints Ciku Mugambi Head supply chain logistics
CloudFret’s achievements
The one-of-a-kind platform developed by CloudFret aims to reduce the number of empty return trips, which is a prevalent problem in the logistics business. It does this by pairing empty vehicles with available cargo that needs to be transported. This technique not only improves efficiency for carriers’ operations but also shortens the time it takes for shippers to get their orders. As a result, the transport ecosystem becomes more environmentally friendly and efficient.
CloudFret is operating with a team of approximately twelve people at the moment; however, due to the recent infusion of funding, the firm is now in a position to increase the size of its talent pool dramatically. The implementation of artificial intelligence inside CloudFret’s business functions serves as a representation of the ‘carpooling’ idea applied to freight transportation and takes its cues from established business models such as BlaBlaCar.
CloudFret’s Chief Executive Officer, Driss Jabar, conceived of the idea for the platform after observing trucks driving for extensive distances without any cargo. The innovative solution that was developed by CloudFret not only improves the efficiency of the operations of the shippers, loaders, and transporters but it also makes the experience of receiving deliveries more pleasant by providing real-time tracking updates.
CloudFret currently manages a fleet of 7,000 vehicles spanning six countries, including France, Spain, Morocco, Senegal, Portugal, and Italy. The company also boasts a client base that consists of 130 shippers and works in collaboration with more than 900 transport businesses.
In addition to increasing efficiency in the use of trucks, CloudFret has expanded its product offerings to include a B2B software as a service (SaaS) marketplace. This marketplace not only offers competitive transport solutions, but it also incorporates value-added services such as post-delivery payment alternatives through FastPay, discounted gasoline cards with deferred payment choices, and reasonably priced cargo insurance options.
Enugu State appoints Kobo360 CEO as commissioner for transportation
CloudFret’s future
When Driss Jabar speculates about the future, he indicates that there will be even more expansion by disclosing that “other large-scale investments are in the closing phase.” This hints to a bright future for CloudFret as it continues to carve out a position for itself in the transport and logistics sector, rewriting the standards and practices of the industry with the creative solutions it provides.