Kenyan-based logistics provider, Leta has raised $5 million in a seed funding round to scale its solution and help businesses move goods cheaper and faster across Africa. The funding round was led by European VC firm Speedinvest, with backing from Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Equator, an Africa-focused climate tech fund.
The logistics software-as-a-service provider’s load and route optimization technology helps customers optimize their delivery quality and reduce the cost associated with the numbers of vehicles needed for distribution.
Leta’s founder and CEO Nick Joshi explained in a conversation with TechCrunch that the company integrates directly with businesses’ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Point-of-Sale (POS), and Order Management Systems (OMS), pulling in live order data like Stock-Keeping Units (SKUs), product types, prices, and customer details.
The platform then selects the nearest vehicle by location for each order and decides whether to load products using first-in, first-out (FIFO) or last-in, first-out (LIFO) methods. FIFO loads the oldest inventory first, while LIFO loads the most recent stock first. It then replaces manuals and intuition-based dispatching.
Afterward, the process automates creation and dispatch planning by optimizing vehicle use based on regional demand and truck capacity. Finally, Leta’s system optimizes delivery routes in real time. According to the CEO, the system is AI-powered.
“For example, if there’s a roundabout where trucks or motorbikes repeatedly fail to complete a turn on that route, the AI flags it as a blacklisted route. It could be due to flooding, police stops, construction, or a presidential convoy. The system constantly updates its map layer to reflect these changes,” said Joshi.
In an African Development Bank (AfDB) report, African enterprises pay about four times the global average to transport goods which results in higher prices for essential goods such as food and medicine. As logistics make up 75 per cent of product costs on the continent, many of these businesses rely on manual logistics, leading to delays.
With its AI-powered platform that optimizes delivery routes, tracks shipments in real-time, streamlines payments, and provides businesses with shipping insights, Leta is aiming to fill the logistics market gap.
“The first generation of logistics startups in Africa did the hard work by educating the market and proving what’s possible,” says Joshi. “By the time we entered, some were exiting or trying to redefine their business. So we knew then what the market was looking for and what they needed,” Joshi added.
In its last funding round in November 2022, the Nairobi-based logistics startup raised a $3 million pre-seed from several local investors. It utilized the fund to deepen operations in its five core markets such as Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Similar Read: Togo-based fintech Gozem raises $30m in Series B funding round to expand its vehicle financing.
Leta’s strength
One major feature that drives Google to invest in the platform is its real-time mapping. Joshi explained that Google Maps hasn’t updated some areas of Nairobi since 2022, whereas Leta’s platform continuously refines road and address data sourced from live customer deliveries.
“We’re creating a much more robust map and address layout, which is why I think Google found it interesting,” he noted.
Head of Speedinvest’s investments in Africa and the Middle East, Deepali Nangia said that the firm backed Leta because it leverages logistics as a gateway and fintech as a growth driver, unlocking new business opportunities.
As part of the benefits of using its service, the platform helps businesses reduce fleet sizes without cutting deliveries and lowers fuel consumption and emissions. This was a major explainer for Equator’s investment.
Joshi claimed that a company with 70 trucks saves about $30,000 monthly using Leta. He added that they haven’t started tracking carbon emissions yet, but it remains a key goal for 2025.
The Kenyan startup now powers over 35 major businesses, including global brands like KFC and Diageo, and local giants like EABL and Gilani, optimizing more than 10,000 daily trips across its five markets.
Since its 2022 funding, Leta has moved from 500,000 deliveries to 4.5 million, 20,000 tons to 150,000, and now manages 7,400 vehicles from 2,000. As a result, Leta’s revenues, which it makes on a per-delivery pricing model, have grown 5 times.
In future outlook, the company aims to double revenue by expanding to more countries across Africa and the Middle East with additional clients like KFC and Diageo.
By connecting stakeholders across the supply chain, the logistic company sees financial services as a natural extension of Leta’s software platform and is already piloting some new products. Its prospective additions include fuel cards for delivery partners and asset financing for vehicles and devices.
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