UAE-based start-up Trukker has revealed ambitious expansion plans for next year as it seeks further funding.
The company, which provides an Uber-esque service for trucks, is currently in the process of a Series B round of funding, which is scheduled to complete in the first quarter of 2021, according to Anish Garg, vice president of operations for Trukker, although he did not reveal the company valuation.
It forms part of what promises to be a busy 12 months for the business, which is a market leader in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, while it also operates in Bahrain.
Garg told Arabian Business: “We are planning to launch in Oman, Kuwait and a host of GCC countries. We have a very significant expansion footprint across the Africa and the Levant region also, where we are exploring countries which are similar to Egypt, for example Jordan and others.
Founded in 2016, Trukker raised $23 million last year in one of the largest Series A funding rounds in the region. The financing was led by STV, a Saudi technology venture capital fund that previously invested in Careem, the UAE-based ride-hailing company that was acquired by Uber Technologies for $3.1 billion.
Garg revealed that revenues “declined” as a result of the coronavirus-inspired lockdowns, which forced countries to close borders in order to curb the spread of the deadly Covid-29 virus.
However, he added that pre-Covid numbers were surpassed in July and August and the growth has since been “tremendous”, sitting around 25-30 percent up on annual targets.
“The recovery has been a severe V-shaped curve,” he said. “We are in double-digit growth terms in all the markets that we are in.”
Trukker recently signed a $10m deal with Silicon Valley-based Partners for Growth to provide venture debt to finance its receivables.
However, as the expansion plans for 2021 have proven, nobody at the start-up is content to rest on their laurels.
“We are not satisfied,” said Garg. “2021 is something that will turn us into the league with the big boys.”
Trukker founder and chief executive officer Gaurav Biswas
Earlier this month, founder and chief executive officer Gaurav Biswas revealed plans to eventually list the company on a regional stock exchange.
Garg agreed that this was very much in their sights. He said: “How 2021 pans out, I think it would be safe to assume that Trukker becomes a unicorn. That’s our vision, for Trukker to become a unicorn and then list it onto either a UAE stock exchange or a Saudi stock exchange.”
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