Freterium, a startup based in Morocco has raised $4 million in seed to scale across the country and into surrounding regions.
The round was led by San Fransisco-based investor Partech.
CDG Invest, Y Combinator, Flexport, Swiss Founders Fund, Outlierz Ventures, and a few angel investors from the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa participated.
YC-backed startup Freterium launched in 2020 and is trying to build a holistic approach to solving critical backend challenges of the freight industry.
CEO Mehdi Cherif Alami and CPO Omar El Kouhene formerly worked in consulting and logistics for companies like McKinsey, PwC, OCP Group and Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) across Africa and the Middle East.
The startup’s Transport Management Software allows companies in the freight industry to manage shipments from the port to the factory, then products from the factory to the warehouses, B2B customers and eventually end customers, according to Alami.
Here’s an example of how the firm’s software works:
Let’s say you want to buy a TV from a merchant that has Freterium software incorporated into its e-commerce website.
The software notifies the consumer when Freterium will deliver the television.
However, behind the scenes, the software assists the shop in checking various moving parts to guarantee that the delivery is completed as efficiently as possible.
The availability of vans, the best path to reach the customer, and comparing cheaper and more efficient options between employing an in-house or third-party courier are just a few of the aspects it looks into.
Freterium software assists in execution and monitoring of shipments by sharing shipment information with parties engaged in the transaction.
After the shipment has been delivered, retailers can monitor invoices from delivery companies, examine performance and service quality, and gain insight into inefficiencies inside their company.
According to the CEO, Freterium onboarded more than 20 enterprise customers in its first full year of operation, gaining 35 percent month over month. Its program is used by over 3,000 people.
While incumbents have significant implementation costs and lengthy installation times that can last months, Freterium says that their platform can be installed in under a week with no upfront expenditures.
Enterprise customers pay between $100 and $1,000 per month after installation, depending on their size.
Freterium is now one of the most well funded startups in the emerging Moroccan ecosystem. Only B2B e-commerce startup Chari and proptech Mubawab has raised more recently.
The funds will be used to invest in R&D, hire more people to quadruple the company’s existing team size within the next 12 months, promote the company’s software, and expand across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, according to Alami.
