RAAHO facilitates discovery of reliable trucks assisted by real-time tracking of the shipments and on-time deliveries to all its shippers.
RAAHO, one of India’s fastest growing On-Demand intercity trucking marketplace, has raised INR 12.5 crore in Pre-series A round of funding led by new investors IPV, Nitish Mittersain (Founder – Nazara) and participated by its existing investors Roots Ventures, Venkatesh Vijayraghavan (Group CEO, Board Member, Cavinkare), Miten Sampat from CRED and others. The asset-light, capital-efficient company plans to utilize the fresh funds to grow nationally and make the whole product “100% On-Demand”.
RAAHO was established in 2017 to streamline the opaque and tedious processes of a fragmented trucking industry, which is primarily dominated by brokers. Intending to ease the lives and boost incomes of truck drivers and fleet owners, the company connects third-party logistics agencies to fleet owners powered by its real-time / technology intensive matchmaking algorithm. RAAHO facilitates discovery of reliable trucks assisted by real-time tracking of the shipments and on-time deliveries to all its shippers.
The $100bn Trucking industry in India is unorganised, largely offline and is plagued with massive deadhead and wastage (wherein a truck drives empty for a load). It’s estimated that 25% of total travel by a truck is empty which leads to huge loss for the trucker, loss for the economy and also a huge environmental challenge.
Md Imthiaz, Co-Founder and CEO of RAAHO, said, “We are excited with this latest infusion of funds as we build the foundations of making intercity trucking digital and fully automated.
We look forward to establishing Raaho as the largest digital freight marketplace in the country, thus impacting the lives of millions in the logistics industry and the country in general with enhanced income, increased efficiency and a positive impact on the climate.”
Commenting on the funding, Japan Vyas – Founder – Roots Ventures , said, “We are glad to be early backers of RAAHO and have participated in both rounds of investment. Imthiaz and team at Raaho are building a capital efficient model and are focused on creating a sustainable positive unit economics company. We believe that company has created the building blocks for digitization of the value chain and embarking on a period of hyper growth”
Vinay Bansal – Founder – Inflection Point Ventures, one of the latest funds to back RAAHO mentions, “World over, we have seen online marketplaces disrupt traditional industries by bringing efficiencies of demand and supply and reducing friction by leveraging technology driven network effects and economies of scale. Intercity trucking space in India is one of the last frontiers of largely offline traditional sectors waiting to be disrupted by technology.
From the very first time we met the Raaho team, we knew we were talking to someone who understands this space very well, and has a larger vision that could change the contours of this industry through their tech-driven, data oriented approach. We are excited to be a part of this journey with Raaho.”
RAAHO has established itself as one of the leading digital marketplaces of middle-mile intercity trucking. In just three years, Raaho has successfully covered 20 million kilometers with over 15000 trucks, catering to a customer base of 350+ shippers. The metric-driven company has stamped its authority in the trucking market by growing frugally and doubling its business compared to the pre-Covid figures with profitable unit economics.
Source: Business World
