The funding is announced 18 months after the startup secured US$3 million in seed funding, including US$1 million of debt financing.

Ghanaian logistics startup JetStream Africa announced, Tuesday (January 10), it has secured US$13 million in debt and equity pre-Searies A financing.

The startup, based in Tema (Ghana) operates in 29 countries (14 African countries). With the newly secured funds, it plans to enter new markets and upgrade its platform that "vertically aggregates fragmented logistics and financing vendors in the world of African trade."

“With this funding round, we are excited to use our technology to reflect our customers’ data back to them in the form of business insights, so they can trade more profitably,” said Miishe Addy, co-founder, and CEO of JetStream.

In Africa, it is challenging for SMEs to ship their goods across international borders. As a result, they have access to only a limited number of markets. The continent's population is also larger than production capacities, therefore, the trade deficit is rising in the ever-booming market.  According to a recent report by Mordor Intelligence, the African cross-border freight market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 4.5% between 2022 and 2027.

With its new model, JetStream facilitates end-to-end freight, helps reduce costs and also provides funding to SMEs that need it.

According to Miishe Addy, the new investment will allow the company to expand its reach and continue to improve its service offerings. "At Jetstream we aim to help regional companies grow their supply chains faster, and close that gap themselves," she said.

Samira Njoya