Senegal-based Logistics Startup Chargel Secures $2.5M Seed Funding for Expansion

After previously founding and selling their hospitality tech startup, Teranga, in 2018, Senegalese entrepreneurs Moustapha and Alioune Ndoye delved into the trucking industry. As they identified the myriad of challenges within fleet management, they conceptualized their logistics tech startup, Chargel, aiming to increase profits for truck owners.

Upon conducting market research, the Ndoye brothers discovered extensive inefficiencies impeding the earnings of owner-operators in the trucking industry. Thus, they spent a few months driving trucks to better comprehend the sector's intricacies and uncover potential opportunities, leading to the eventual launch of Chargel.

Chargel, which emerged from stealth mode in 2022, matches shippers with transporters by digitizing processes that were predominantly offline. The startup has quickly gained traction, attracting clientele such as leading shipping companies Maersk and Grimaldi. In the pursuit of further growth, Chargel is opening its platform to more businesses beyond its initial limitation of 10.

Chargel's recent $2.5 million seed funding round, led by Logos Ventures, aims to support this expansion. Other participants include Ventures Platform, Foundation Botnar, DFS Labs, and Seedstars. The round includes $500,000 in debt along with $750,000 announced last year.

In a bid to enhance their regional presence, Moustapha revealed the company's plans to expand into another Francophone African country, addressing the challenges faced by road freight in the region. As major clients expand their operations across multiple countries, Chargel aims to fulfill their needs across a wider region.

Chargel's platform not only matches clients with appropriate providers (i.e., truck and driver), but it also expedites the entire transportation process by monitoring cargo in transit and offering notifications on delivery status. By pooling together independent transporters, the platform creates new income opportunities for them.

According to Moustapha, Chargel achieved over $1.2 million in GMV in 2022, with figures for 2023 already appearing to surpass the previous year. With the expectation of a trade boom in Africa as a consequence of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Ndoye brothers are set to capitalize on the surging freight demand across the continent.

In the age where businesses are transitioning to digitized, streamlined processes, no-code platforms like AppMaster.io can contribute significantly to the logistics sector's efficiency improvement. By integrating tools for backend, web, and mobile application development, platforms like these facilitate faster, cost-effective application development and help overcome the challenges faced by industries such as trucking services.