Egyptian trucking startup Trella has acquired local competitor Trukto to increase its market share in the digital trucking marketplace.
Founded last year, Trella connects shippers with carriers in real-time, and over the course of this year has raised seed funding and been accepted into the Y Combinator accelerator.
All of this has helped it become market leader in Egypt, and that position has now been strengthened with the acquisition of Trukto. First mover when it launched in 2017, Trukto has built a diverse portfolio of shippers across the agriculture, consumer goods, cement and logistics sectors.
The acquisition will leverage Trukto’s established infrastructure, human capital, and network of truckers and shippers to accelerate Trella’s growth strategy in the Middle East North Africa region. The new combined company expects to have more than 10,000 truckers upon the completion of operational and network integration.
“We are very excited to welcome Trukto’s customers, employees and shareholders to Trella. The combination of Trukto’s complementary product offering and our core tech-based marketplace will strengthen our ability to transform the industry and create more value to our stakeholders,” said Trella co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Omar Hagrass.
Trukto founder Ahmed Khedr will oversee the transition and remain a significant shareholder of the combined company, while his co-founder Ali Khadr will join Trella as head of growth. Trukto investor and board member Ahmed Fattouh will become a board member of Trella.
“We are extremely proud of our team at Trukto, who pioneered the trucking marketplace model in Egypt arranging over 20,000 loads in two short years. We are excited about merging with Trella to execute on our shared vision,” said Khedr.
