Google invests in Kenya’s e-logistics company Lori Systems

Google has today announced an investment into Kenya’s e-logistics company, Lori Systems that provides shippers with digital solutions to efficiently manage their cargo and transporters.

This new investment into an Africa-based startup is from Google's $50 Million Africa Investment Fund, which Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced in October 2021.

Without making further financial disclosures of the Google-Lori investment deal, Nitin Gajria, Google’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa says Lori Systems is a great example of how technology can be scalable across Africa, and how, in turn, can drive meaningful economic development.

Google invests in Kenya’s e-logistics company Lori Systems Pulse Live Kenya

“We're excited to see where the future takes a business like this. Google understands the transformative power digitisation can bring to the African continent. There is so much potential in the region, but it's only through innovation that this can be fully unlocked,” he adds.

Lori Systems CEO Uche Ogboi says they are excited to have Google as a partner adding “this funding will allow us to continue driving superior efficiencies across logistics on the continents. Our vision of the future of logistics in Africa is one that is digital, scalable and more efficient. We have been successful, achieving up to 20% price reduction for cargo owners and nearly 2x increase in truck utilisation for transporters on our platform.”

READ: 12 African startups that have announced the largest funding

Jean-Claude Homawoo, Lori Systems Co-founder & CPO, comments, “In recent years the global logistics industry has seen much innovation. However global supply chains are in dire need of modernisation, with technologies yet to reach critical scale.”

“On the continent, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to lead to an 81% increase in intra-African trade, providing a $21.9 Billion opportunity in untapped trade potential that the 54 ratifying countries are hoping to capitalise on over the next 5 years. Logistics is key to unlocking this opportunity.”

Named by the Financial Times earlier this year as Africa's seventh fastest-growing company, Lori Systems has helped thousands of shippers and carriers move over $10B worth of cargo across the continent since its founding in 2017.

According to Knight Frank’s Logistics Africa report, 75% of the price of a product in Africa is attributed to logistics (compared to just 6% in the U.S.).

On the continent, logistics operators face a host of problems; from fragmented supply and demand markets to inconsistent pricing, paper documentation and little or no access to financing.

Google invests in e-logistics firm Lori Systems Pulse Live Kenya

A pioneer in e-logistics in Africa, Lori Systems lowers the cost of goods by eliminating pain points along the cargo journey: seamlessly connecting shippers to transportation, providing shippers with solutions to efficiently manage their cargo and transporters, and digitising their entire transport operations from sourcing transportation to documentation and payments.