General News
Jetstream, a Ghanaian e-logistics platform Raises $13M Debt, Equity Funding
The market for cross-border logistics services is said to hit revenues of $32 billion by 2025, with several companies vying for market share in the ever-growing competitive industry. Ghanaian e-logistics startup Jetstream Africa is on the list, and today, it’s announcing that it has secured $13 million in equity and debt pre-Series A financing.
Fintech lender and private equity firm Cauris and French development institution Proparco, through its bridge fund, provided the debt financing while the equity investors include Octerra, Wuri Ventures, Seed9, The MBA Fund and ASCVC, a venture fund founded by executives of the supply chain visibility platform Project44. Existing investors Alitheia IDF and Golden Palm participated as well.
The round is coming about 18 months after the Tema-based cross-border logistics platform announced a $3 million seed round (including $1 million in debt). Jetstream says this new investment will allow it to expand into new countries — it’s currently in 29 (12 in Africa) countries — and continue to develop its technology platform, which vertically aggregates fragmented logistics and financing vendors in the world of African trade.
At the time of its seed round, Jetstream Africa had two business lines: one providing logistics services to cargo owners dealing with import and export and another distributing financing to freight forwarders. However, Jetstream has bundled both products over the past couple of months to serve only cargo owners. According to the startup’s chief executive Miishe Addy, Jetstream achieved product-market fit correspondingly.
“Running those two lines side by side, we observed that the import or export business controls the supply chain,” she said on the pivot. “Although the cargo owners and freight forwarders have a lot of information asymmetry, the importer and exporter can put pressure on the freight forwarder to digitize the supply chain. We simplified our business into just the import-export product line by working directly with them with a combination of trade financing and logistics.”
Jetstream’s new business model has shifted to that of a freight forwarder. The company now involves itself in the end-to-end movement of shippers’ cargo (both import and export), charges a fee and, most importantly, supplies finance to those who need it. Typically, the traditional method for most cargo owners when they want to take out a loan to run their businesses is to go to banks to secure a letter of credit. Whether they get it or not depends on the bank of their counterparty. To elucidate: Say a Ghanaian importer is making a transaction with a Chinese exporter — the bank in Ghana collects cedi and interacts with the exporter’s bank in China, which, upon vouching for the cargo owner, dispenses the yuan.
It’s a time-consuming process that can take several weeks. And for cargo owners on both sides of the transaction who want access to faster credit, the letter of credit system isn’t efficient, leaving them to find other sources of capital that require some form of collateral for their loans. Jetstream essentially provides them with working capital backed by actual shipment. According to Addy, the four-year-old startup takes a security interest in the cargo. Rather than handling the letter of credit itself, Jetstream underwrites loans — to be paid back within 15-90 days — through its banking partners and disburses the loan proceeds to every vendor in the supply chain.
“If you’re importing 10 containers, in addition to paying for the actual good, importers have to pay the shipping line, customs broker on both sides, truck drivers on both sides, you have to pay a warehouse operator in some cases, or container terminal. There’s a minimum of nine different vendors you have to pay,” noted Addy, who co-founded Jetstream with COO Solomon Torgbor in 2018.
“And when someone applies for a Jetstream loan, they’re not just saying give me $50,000 but enough money to fund this entire shipment and pay these nine vendors. Also, we don’t give the money to the cargo owners but to the nine vendors directly.”
Jetstream has grown its trade finance product from the $1 million debt it secured in mid-2021 to about $9 million in total loans disbursed so far. Its projection is to increase that amount fivefold by the end of this year, Addy said. The chief executive also mentioned that Jetstream has scaled from disbursing one loan per month to up to 50 loans per month after switching its business model, thus becoming EBITDA positive. Also, revenue has grown by 48% and active customers by 102% within the past year, according to a statement shared by the e-logistics startup, which handles shipments consisting of 47% air freight, 44% ocean freight and 9% ground transport.
The 44-man team, which competes with the likes of Sote, SEND, One35 Port and MVX among others, has been able to strike several essential partnerships for its next growth phase, including multinational banks like Societe Generale and startups such as Lami and MFS Africa. Tokunboh Ishmael, co-founder and principal partner at Alitheia IDF, one of Jetstream’s investors, says this round of funding, which supports the startup’s expansion to new markets, will see it capitalize on trade policies like AfCFTA, “enabling richer inter-continental trade which is needed to support inclusive economic development and unleash the continent’s full potential.”
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has explained why kidnappers and terrorists are not always traceable despite the country’s expanding digital identity infrastructure.
NIMC explanation pointed to a simple but significant gap in the system.
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, director-general of the agency said that: “A lot of the time, you find out the kidnappers use the phones of the people they have abducted, which means how do you trace them because they are not using their own phones?” she said.
Coker-Odusote spoke during an appearance on Channels Television, where she was asked to explain why criminals remain difficult to trace despite the mandatory NIN-SIM linkage policy.
She said criminals frequently frustrate investigations by using mobile phones belonging to their victims, instead of their own registered lines.
“We already know the NIN is the foundational identity for the security architecture, but a lot of the time, you find out the kidnappers use the phones of the people they have abducted. Which means, how do you trace them because they are not using their own phones?” she said.
She also suggested that some criminal elements involved in kidnapping operations may not even be captured in Nigeria’s identity database.
“There is a theory that it may be possible that these kidnappers are not Nigerians and are brought into the country 48 or 72 hours before a kidnapping takes place specifically for that purpose. I’m not insinuating anything, but if that were the case, they naturally would not be captured in our database,” she added.
The comments have revived questions about whether expectations placed on the NIN-SIM linkage have exceeded what the system was designed to deliver.
The NIN-SIM linkage exercise was introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in collaboration with NIMC to strengthen identity management, eliminate anonymous SIM ownership and support national security.
Over the years, the exercise resulted in millions of subscribers linking their SIM cards with their National Identification Numbers, while telecom operators also deactivated millions of lines that failed to comply with regulatory directives.
Earlier, the NCC maintained that the policy was aimed at improving the integrity of Nigeria’s SIM registration database, strengthening identity verification and supporting security agencies in criminal investigations.
The regulator also described the exercise as an important component of the country’s digital economy and national security framework.
Telecommunications operators have consistently maintained that while they play a critical role in implementing the NIN-SIM linkage policy, they are not responsible for tracking criminals.
Quest Merchant Bank recently hosted the second edition of the Great Place to Work® Nigeria Study Mission, reaffirming its commitment to fostering a high-performance workplace culture and advancing people-centric leadership practices.
The Study Mission serves as a collaborative learning platform that brings together Great Place to Work® Certified organizations to exchange insights, share best practices, and strengthen workplace cultures.
The event welcomed Human Resources leaders and representatives from FITC, Princeps Credit Systems, Tonic Technologies and Esentry Limited for an engaging and insightful session focused on building thriving workplace cultures, promoting continuous learning, and advancing employee-centric practices that drive organizational success.
Speaking at the event, Tolulope Dayo-Peters, Head of People Management, emphasized the importance of continuous learning and collaboration in building sustainable workplace cultures.
“We are delighted to host the second edition of the Great Place to Work® Nigeria Study Mission. At Quest Merchant Bank, we believe building a great workplace is an ongoing journey rooted in trust, purposeful leadership, and a genuine commitment to our people.
“We are pleased to share the practices that have shaped our culture and look forward to more opportunities to learn and collaborate with like-minded organizations.”
Also speaking at the event, Afolabi Olorode, Acting Managing Director/CEO, Quest Merchant Bank Limited, highlighted the critical role workplace culture plays in driving long-term business success.
“We recognize that a strong workplace culture is fundamental to sustainable business success. Creating an environment where our people are empowered to grow, innovate, and perform at their best enables us to consistently deliver value to our clients and stakeholders. We are proud to support initiatives like the Great Place to Work® Nigeria Study Mission that encourage organizations to learn from one another and collectively raise the standard of workplace excellence in Nigeria.”
The Study Mission reinforced the importance of collaboration among organizations committed to creating exceptional employee experiences.
By providing a platform for open dialogue, peer learning, and the exchange of practical ideas, the initiative enabled participants to explore innovative approaches to employee engagement, organizational culture, leadership development, and talent management while strengthening a growing community of employers dedicated to workplace excellence.
Hosting the Great Place to Work® Nigeria Study Mission further strengthens Quest Merchant Bank’s position as a thought leader in workplace culture and talent management.
It also enhances the Bank’s employer brand and demonstrates its unwavering commitment to creating an environment where employees can grow, innovate, and achieve their full potential.
Quest Merchant Bank remains committed to championing initiatives that promote learning, innovation, and people-centric leadership. Through strategic partnerships and knowledge-sharing platforms such as the Great Place to Work® Nigeria Study Mission, the Bank continues to contribute to the advancement of exceptional workplace cultures and the future of work across Nigeria’s corporate landscape.
Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency (NIHSA) has warned of possible floods in parts of Adamawa, Bauchi, Edo, Imo, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Kaduna, Plateau, Niger, Benue, and Borno states within the next seven days.
According to information posted on NIHSA X handle, the Agency announced medium flood advisory in force for the next 7 days across Adamawa, Bauchi, and 11 other States.
“Localised inundation is forecast along the main channel; named communities below sit on the projected footprint. Stations: Saminara on the Karam river, Waya Dam Site on the Waya river, Amber on the Amber river.
“Adamawa; Lemsa, Lamurde, Numan Exposure: 147 comm. 49 schis 40 hith 6 mkts17 relig. Bauchi-Bauchi, Ningi, Shira. Exposure: 4 comm. Kaduna; Chikun, Giwa, Igabi, Jaba, Jema’a, Kachia, Kaura, Kauru, +6 more. Exposure: 1 comm.
“Borno-Gubio, Mobbar. Exposure: 680 comm. 8 schls 6 hith 5 mkts 21 relig. Edo-Akoko-Ed, EtsakoEa, EtsakoWe, Ikpoba-Okha, Orhionmw, OviaNort, OviaSo.. Exposure: 3 comm.
“Imo-Aboh-Mba, Oguta, Ohaji/Eg, Okigwe, Owerri North, Owerri West. Exposure: 3 comm. 7 more states affected and severity LGAs”.
NIHSA advised people in the affected areas to “do NOT cross flooded roads, bridges, or fast-moving water on foot or by vehicle.
“Clear drainage channels and river-mouth blockages; avoid building or living in the floodplain and move people, livestock and valuables from the floodplain to pre-identified higher ground,” NIHSA stated.
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