Logistics startup Yobante Express raises a $1.2M serie A round

Senegal startup Yobante Express runs an online marketplace connecting local couriers with local commerce for optimizing domestic, cross-border, and last-mile deliveries. The $1.2 million Serie A round was led by Grenfell Holdings, Launch Africa Ventures, R-Ventures, Libertad Ventures, and its investment branches Aguila Investments and other pools of local and high international angel investors. The funds will help the company achieve critical mass in Nigeria and South Africa.

Last year, Yobante participated in the 2019 Startupbootcamp AfriTech accelerator programme in Cape Town. This startup today is now active across five African markets namely Botswana, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Zimbabwe.

Speaking to Disrupt Africa, Oumar Basse (CEO) disclosed that the startup raised an annual run rate of $8 million and had carried over 1.2 million parcels. He expressed an intention to transport over 2 million parcels in 2021. This Serie A round by Yobante Express will scale into countries surrounding those locations. He also expressed their intent to create a Lagos to Dakar corridor and Cape Town to Dakar thereafter.