Burmese logistics startup Kargo raises US$800K in pre-Series A funding round
Myanmar-based logistics startup Kargo today announced a US$800,000 pre-Series A funding round led by Singapore-based early stage venture capital fund Cocoon Capital, alongside two angel investors.
The company also announced that Cocoon Capital Managing Partner Michael Blakey has joined its board of directors.
In a press statement, Kargo said that it plans to use the new funding to further develop its platform and expand to markets outside of Myanmar in the next 12 months.
“Kargo is focused on Myanmar and the cross border B2B trucking logistics corridors from Thailand to Vietnam. The focus is to build out our presence through these markets with our existing and future B2B clients by streamlining their needs for transport of goods along these Mekong corridors. At this point, and as we have done in Myanmar, we will work closely with the local trucking suppliers and logistics companies to connect them to large enterprise businesses for transparent, reliable, and cost-efficient trucking logistics,” the company explained in an email to e27.
Founded in 2016 by Alexander Wicks, Kargo digitise the ordering and matching process inter-city and intra-city B2B trucking logistics.
The Kargo platform aims to improve transparency, availability, and accountability across the trucking industry.
The startup received the GSM Association Ecosystem Accelerator Fund grant and won the Seedstars
Yangon 2017, representing Myanmar at the Seedstars Summit 2018 in Lausanne.
It had also been named ‘Best Logistics & Supply Chain Startup’ at the Echelon Top100 competition in Singapore in 2018.
In March, Kargo announced that it has inked an unsecured small business financing agreement with Myanmar’s leading commercial bank Yoma Bank.
Through the partnership, the startup received an initial loan of approximately US$130,000.
“This agreement allows Kargo to solve the timing issue of having to pay its drivers before receiving payment for invoices from clients and this frees up Kargo’s investment capital to be used for its primary purpose: product expansion and business growth,” the company further explained.
“Myanmar remains a challenging climate in which to operate a business, especially a startup, and working with institutions such as Yoma Bank to create alternative financing options remains key to future success,” it stressed.