CloudFret, a transport and logistics startup, has successfully raised €2 million ($2.1 million) in its latest funding round, with investments from AfriMobility and Azur Innovation Fund. Founded in 2021 and currently based in Morocco and Marseille, CloudFret is set for rapid expansion, planning to double its workforce by the end of 2024. This funding will primarily support the launch of a novel solution aimed at optimizing empty truck returns within the intra-European market.
Originating from Driss Jabar’s vision, CloudFret was established to address the issue of empty truck returns between Mediterranean regions. Utilizing an AI-driven platform, it connects shippers with carriers, offering a mobile Software as a Service (SaaS) solution accessible to all European carriers, freight forwarders, and shippers.
The new funding will facilitate CloudFret’s expansion of its client base among shippers and partner carriers. Currently, the company operates with a team of around a dozen employees and has ambitious growth plans.
The core of CloudFret’s innovation lies in its use of artificial intelligence to identify and redirect empty cargo vehicles to available goods. This approach significantly reduces empty truck returns and is comparable to the carpooling model used by platforms like BlaBlaCar.
Founder and CEO Driss Jabar explains that the platform was inspired by the inefficiency of trucks traveling long distances without cargo. It not only benefits loaders and transporters but also helps partners to scale up operations, reduce delivery times, and provide real-time updates on cargo journeys.
CloudFret has already made a significant impact in the market, serving 130 shipper clients and partnering with 900 transport companies that manage 7,000 vehicles across six countries: France, Spain, Morocco, Senegal, Portugal, and Italy.
Besides optimizing truck returns, CloudFret has expanded its offerings to include a B2B SaaS marketplace. This marketplace delivers not just optimal transport options but also integrates additional services such as post-delivery FastPay payment, fuel cards with discounts and deferred payments, and competitively priced cargo insurance.
With a promising future ahead, Jabar hints at “other large-scale investments in the closing phase,” signaling a continued growth trajectory for CloudFret as it innovates and transforms the transport and logistics sector.
