Mobility 54 (the Venture Capital arm of Toyota Tsusho and
CFAO Group) led OnePort 365’s funding effort, with participation from SBI
Investment, Flexport, ODX and other strategic angel investors as well as
existing investor Samurai Incubate.
OnePort 365, which is focused on the end-to-end digitization
of freight management, is active in Nigeria and Ghana and plans to expand into
new markets across the region.
“We are super excited to have these investors onboard to
support our mission to optimize cross-border trading across the continent,”
said Hio Sola-Usidame, CEO and founder of OnePort 365, in the report. “With new
regulations like the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement creating the
potential for a new era of trade on the continent, we want to make it easier for
traders to maximize the opportunity.
“We believe managing freights should be as easy as booking a
flight or ordering a ride-hailing service and we are building the operating
system to make this possible,” he said.
Earlier this month, digital freight firm Convoy has raised
$260 million in new funding, bringing the value of the Seattle-based company to
$3.8 billion.
The capital came in the form of a $160 million Series E
preferred equity and a $100 million venture-debt investment from Hercules
Capital, according to the release. The Series E was led by Baillie Gifford,
with funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, along with several
new and returning investors.
Convoy also secured a $150 million line of credit from JP
Morgan. The platform applies machine learning models to more efficiently match
carriers to loads and connects shippers and freight brokers to a national
network of 400,000 trucks through its platform and smartphone app.