Egyptian trucking startup Trella has secured USD 3.5 mn from private equity outfit Avanz Capitalas part of an ongoing bridge funding round, Trella CEO Omar Hagrass told Enterprise Logistics. The funding round has so far accrued a total that is “much more than three times” Avanz Capital’s USD 3.5 mn investment in quasi-equity financing. Talks with four or five other investors are still ongoing in what Hagrass referred to as the round’s “final sprint.”

The USD 3.5 mn investment represents the total amount Avanz Capital has invested in Trella so far,and includes a fresh USD 1.5 mn and a USD 2 mn investment invested earlier this year through its Manara Fund, Avanz Capital’s managing director Haytham Wagih told Enterprise Logistics. The funding is earmarked for Trella’s growth, Wagih said.

Background: The latest round of investments from Avanz Capital follows a USD 6 mn loan facility Trella received from ALMA Sustainable Finance less than a year ago. The startup also inked an agreement with Contact Financial designed to give it and the carriers it works with the access to finance they need to grow, after closing one of Egypt’s largest-ever USD 42 mn series A round in 2021 co-led by Maersk’s VC arm. The company said at the time that the money would be used to expand in the MENAP region and develop its platform.

About Trella: Founded in 2018, Trella is a B2B freight platform that connects shippers to carriers, allowing shippers to improve load utilization while providing transparency on pricing. The company allows carriers to track shipments and keeps an eye on transportation trends and performance through reports. Trella exited Pakistan two months ago on the back of a gloomy macroeconomic outlook in the country and has limited its operations to Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

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