African Tech-enabled Customs Clearing And Forwarding Startup Sote Raises $4m To Explore Fintech
Customs clearing and forwarding companies in Africa have a cause to worry. This is because Sote, purportedly the continent’s first licensed tech-enabled customs clearing and forwarding service has announced it has raised an additional $4 million in a seed extension round, increasing its total funding to $8.4 million.
Social Capital, Chamath Palihapitiya’s firm, led the round, with Ray Ko, the growth partner, joining Sote’s board of directors. Also participating in this round is a small group of investors including Justin Saslow, Ribbit Capital and Harry Hurst.
With the funding, Sote also welcomes Samora Kariuki as Director of Fintech. Kariuki is the editor of Frontier, one of Africa’s most well-known Fintech newsletters. Samora previously worked at Finbank as the Deputy MD and had previously worked at Dillux.
Also joining Sote as CFO and M&A lead is John Bish. John worked in finance previously as the CFO of Williams Lea Group and most recently as the CFO of MallForAfrica. He was also the Finance Director of DHL and Wincanton Logistics, where he oversaw some mergers and acquisitions.
Using the funding, the company plans to combine its end-to-end logistics freight forwarding service with a full-service Working Capital loan solution for Africa’s supply chain.
“Sote has always been about the people. A group of passionate individuals driven to build the future of Africa. We’re excited about bringing Samora and John under one roof with our Logistics and Engineering teams to create uniquely compelling solutions for our customers and the value chain beyond them If the supply chain is composed of the flow of product, the flow of information, and the flow of cash, then Sote already controls the first two. With the launch of our Fintech solution, we will have control and positive influence on all three. This creates a powerful flywheel effect with our customers as they find more holistic and convenient bundled services between logistics and capital solutions”
Felix Orwa, the Kenyan-born Founder and CEO of Sote.
Why The Investors Invested
Investors seemed to effortlessly back Sote because of the traction it has acquired barely two years in existence. With 50 customers as of December 2021, the company has grown its customer base by 370 percent and revenue by 200 percent in the previous year. However, Sote plans to target larger consumers in 2022 and meet growth targets after recently obtaining Authorized Economic Operator (AEO)certification.
A Look At What Sote Does
Sote, which was launched in 2018 and charges roughly $1,500 per container handled, currently offers a real-time dashboard that allows manufacturers, retailers, and distributors to see shipment progress in real time, saving time and money.
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