Google adds to its Africa Investment Fund
from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
NAIROBI – GOOGLE has made its third investment under its $50 million Africa Investment Fund announced in 2021.
Lori Systems, the Nairobi-based e-logistics company, is the latest beneficiary.
The investment of an undisclosed amount comes off the back of the launch of Google’s first product development cetre on the continent, also in Nairobi.
“At Google, we understand the transformative power digitisation can bring to the African continent,” said Nitin Gajria, Google’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa.
The executive believes there is potential in the region, but it is only through innovation that this can be fully unlocked.
“Lori Systems is a great example of how technology can be scalable across Africa, and how, in turn, this can drive meaningful economic development,” Gajria said.
Rated as one of Africa’s fastest-growing company, Lori Systems has helped thousands of shippers and carriers move over $10 billion of cargo across the continent since its founding in 2017.
“We’re excited to have Google as a partner as we continue to build the operating system for emerging market logistics,” Uche Ogboi, Lori Systems Chief Executive Officer, said.
According to Knight Frank’s Logistics Africa report, $180 billion is spent annually on haulage in Africa.
Logistics account for as much as 75 percent of a product’s price (compared to 6 percent in the United States).
– CAJ News
