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Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Logistics startup Naqla raises USD 10.5 mn in pre-series A funding

Trucking startup Naqla has raised USD 10.5 mn in a pre-series A round led by El Sewedy Capital Holding, Hassan Allam Holding and the Sallam family, according to a press release out yesterday.

How the funding will be deployed: Naqla will use the funding to launch new segments including its Naqla Store selling heavy automotive maintenance products to drivers, as well as for driver financing and “scaling our pool of talent and tech product,” co-founder and CEO Sherif Taher told us.

About Naqla: Founded in 2017 by Taher and Samer Sallam, the startup’s B2B logistics platform connects individual truck drivers with cargo companies and offers road assistance, finance, ins., healthcare and maintenance services to the drivers in its network. The startup is now working with over 400 shipping firms and 10.5k drivers nationwide, and has so far helped deliver over 4.6 mn tons of cargo.

The Sallam family are synonymous with consumer goods in Egypt, having founded brands including Btech and Olympic Group. A family vehicle recently invested in real estate developer MNHD.

Egypt-based pharma delivery platform Chefaa has raised an undisclosed sum in a funding round led by South African VC Newtown Partners, Japan-based Global Brain and US investor GMS Capital Partners, a press release out yesterday. The round marks the three VCs’ first investment in the Egyptian market, according to the release.

Chefaa is branching out into ins. services: The startup will use the fund to launch its Chefaa Prime medical ins. alternative, a subscription-based service “designed for emerging markets.” The round will also fund Chefaa’s “efforts to digitize chronic illness management” and help it enter unspecified new markets, the release read.

Background: Founded in 2017, the female-led startup operates an AI-powered platform for buying pharma products, which allows customers to scan their prescriptions, locate their nearest pharmacies and order meds online. Chefaa closed a seven-figure USD pre-series A round in 2020, after raising a six-figure USD sum from Flat6Labs and 500Startups in a 2019 seed round. The pharma delivery platform was among 10 MENA startups to take part in the first iteration of the Google-led three-month digital accelerator program in MENA last year.

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