Leta, a Kenyan supply chain and logistics software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider has secured $5 million in seed funding to scale its AI-driven platform designed to help businesses transport goods.
The funding round was led by European Venture Capital firm Speedinvest, one of Europe’s most active early-stage investors, with backing from Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Equator, an Africa-focused climate tech fund.
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), African businesses face significantly higher transportation costs, paying up to four times the global average, impacting prices for essential goods and contributing to a 75% increase in product costs due to logistics.
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Leta wants to change this narrative with its AI-powered platform, by reducing costs and enhancing efficiency for businesses across Africa. The startup’s cloud-based logistics solution is designed to help businesses cut transportation costs and optimize delivery operations. By integrating directly with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Point-of-Sale (POS), and Order Management Systems (OMS), the platform processes live order data including product details, pricing, and stock-keeping units (SKUs)-to determine the most efficient dispatch strategy.
The Al-driven system streamlines fleet management by assigning deliveries to the nearest available vehicles while choosing the most suitable loading method either First-In, First-Out (FIFO) or Last-In, First-Out (LIFO). This eliminates reliance on manual logistics planning, ensuring businesses maximize vehicle capacity while reducing waste and inefficiencies.
Leta also enhances real-time route optimization, automatically identifying problematic roads due to construction, congestion, or security concerns. “Our Al continuously updates route data based on real-time challenges, ensuring that deliveries are both timely and cost-effective,” said founder and CEO Nick Joshi.
The logistics startup also helps businesses reduce fleet sizes without cutting deliveries, lowering fuel consumption and emissions, which explains Equator’s backing. “A company with 70 trucks saves about $30,000 monthly using Leta,” Joshi Claims. “We haven’t started tracking carbon emissions yet, but it is a key goal for this year.
In one of its success stories, Leta helped to improve efficient delivery service for one of the largest bakeries in Kenya, Kenafric Bakery. Before partnering with Leta, Kenafric Bakery faced numerous challenges in its delivery services in Kenya. Today, thanks to Leta’s innovative solutions, they save up to $20,000 in delivery costs every month.
Kenafric Bakery operates a large fleet of over 75 delivery trucks. Previously, these trucks were underutilized due to static delivery routes, often sending trucks out only 40% full. This inefficiency resulted in high delivery costs and reduced profit margins.
With Leta’s technology, Kenafric Bakery now optimizes delivery routes based on customer locations and truck capacities. This has led to reduced delivery times and allowed them to take six trucks off the road, significantly lowering operational costs.
Notably, Leta provides Kenafric Bakery with valuable insights into sales trends through our analytics dashboard. This enables them to forecast future demand effectively. The customer heatmap feature highlights areas with fewer customers, allowing targeted sales efforts and better inventory management.
While Kenafric Bakery previously had tracking devices on its trucks, it lacked comprehensive visibility across its fleet. With Let’s technology, they can now track deliveries in real time and review past routes taken by drivers.
This improved oversight helps monitor driver performance, prevent fuel wastage, and reduce misbehavior. By measuring actual kilometers traveled against expected distances, they can identify inefficiencies and optimize routes further.
The Nairobi-based startup currently powers over 35 major businesses, which includes brands like KFC and Diageo, and local giants like EABL and Gilani, optimizing 10,000+ daily trips across its five markets. Also, it is trusted by Africa’s leading companies such as Kingsmil, Liquor Shack, Shawarma Street Shopzetu, QuickMart, pizza Inn, Nando’s, Chupa Chap, Chicken Inn, Galito’s, Super Cosmetics, and Work It, amongst others.
Since securing its $3 million pre-seed round in 2022, Leta has expanded its presence in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Over this period, the company’s deliveries have surged from 500,000 to 4.5 million, while cargo volume has increased from 20,000 tons to 150,000.
The number of vehicles managed on the platform has also risen from 2,000 to 7,400, resulting in a fivefold revenue increase. With fresh capital, Leta plans to further scale its technology and operations, reinforcing its mission to make logistics more cost-effective and sustainable across Africa.