8/5/2019 – Kargo, a logistics startup based in Myanmar said that it has raised US$800,000 in a pre-Series A funding round led by Singapore-based venture capital fund Cocoon Capital, with participation from two unnamed angel investors.
The investment likely comes from Cocoon Capital’s US$20 million fund raised last year that targets seed stage tech startups in Southeast Asia.
Following the investment, Cocoon Capital Managing Partner Michael Blakey will also be joining Kargo’s board of directors.
Founded in 2016 by Alexander Wicks, Kargo provides a B2B logistics platform that acts as an end-to-end service for both short and long-haul trucking, connecting individuals or businesses to truck owners through a mobile application.
The startup plans to use fresh capital to further develop its platform and expand outside Myanmar in the next 12 months.
“The Myanmar freight market is expected to grow by 300% in the coming years. With such as a fragmented logistics market our platform simplifies trucking through one simple dashboard that manages shipments both across Myanmar to other markets in the region,” said Kargo founder and CEO Alexander Wicks.
Kargo was the winner of Seedstars Yangon 2017 and was backed by Seed Myanmar that targets early-stage technology companies. The following year, it raised a six-digit dollar grant from the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund.
The logistics startup has also forged a partnership with Yoma Bank, a large commercial bank in Myanmar to enable same-day payments to truck drivers on its platform.
Myanmar is the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia and logistics is a key industry to support this growth. The Myanmar freight and logistics market is forecasted to reach a market value of US$7.52 billion by 2023 and a CAGR of 10.50%, according to Mordor Intelligence.
