Truck Lagbe gets more $1.5 million investment

Truck Lagbe, the number one trucking platform in Bangladesh, raised more $1.5 million from IDLC Venture Capital Fund I, Millville Opportunities Master Fund, Shorooq Partners, Colopl Next, and TRU Fund I.

Earlier, International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced to provide an equity investment of $2.5 million in the digital trucking platform.

With the latest development, Truck Lagbe raised a total of $4 million led by IFC, and co-led by IDLC Venture Capital Fund I, said a media release on Wednesday.

Truck Lagbe connects businesses with truck drivers and fleet owners through an app-based platform. Over 80,000 truck owners and drivers are registered on the platform serving thousands of customers daily. The company operates an on-demand marketplace serving SMEs and consumers, and a brokerage serving larger companies on credit.

“We are thrilled to have IFC lead our Series A,” said Truck Lagbe CEO and founder Anayet Rashid. IFC have backed several of the leading trucking platforms globally, bringing deep knowledge, expertise, and network. They are the ideal partner for our next phase of growth.”

Nuzhat Anwar, IFC’s Acting Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal said, “It is crucial for Bangladesh, which aims to become a middle-income country over the next decade, to have an efficient transport infrastructure and logistics services.”

This provides more support for the shipment of goods during the pandemic, but also help transport exports to markets, Nuzhat added.

“Bangladesh’s logistics industry is transforming from manual to digital. Being in the banking industry over two decades, I have personally seen the growth of the logistics businesses and the crucial role it plays to keep the economic engine of our country thrive. So, we are extremely happy with this investment and to support the team as it directly impacts our GDP growth,” said Syed Javed Noor, Deputy Managing Director at IDLC and Partner at IDLC Venture Capital Fund I.

Truck Lagbe’s technology platform empowers small truck owners by displaying their available trucks and price quotations, as well as easy access to market information, enabling truck owners to find freight jobs, improve their income and more effectively utilize their trucks.

The Dhaka-based company, Truck Lagbe, won the “Startup Challenge 2017” competition in 2017, organized by the Information and Communication Technology Division of the government of Bangladesh, added the release.