Jetstream, a supply chain platform that powers global trade logistics for African suppliers, has closed a $3 million seed round.
The Ghanaian-based startup raised the investment from Alitheia IDF, Golden Palm Investments, 4DX Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Asia Pacific Land, Breyer Labs, and MSA Capital.
Founded by Miishe Addy, Solomon Torgbor and Raquel Wilson in 2018, the startup commenced operations in Ghana in March 2019 with a Less Than Container Load (LCL) aggregation service.
Their offering allowed agricultural exporters to group their shipments into shared sea freight containers. Then in November of that year, Jetstream added trade finance for customers who found it difficult to fill large purchase orders.
Today, Jetstream is white labeling the systems built internally to manage shipments and financing for customers. The platform has also expanded beyond Ghana, it also has operations in Nigeria with agents present in South Africa, China, the U.S., the U.K., and Europe.
“We are different from a more siloed freight management system because we are leveraging financing to integrate the customs brokers, freight forwarders, shipping lines, airlines, and container terminals all onto the Jetstream platform so that shipments can be managed and tracked every step of the way. We are bringing many of the local providers online for the first time,” Addy said.
Jetstream’s business model is straightforward. It charges for the freight, clearance, and financial services offered. For freight, it charges a per-container or per-kilogram fee. For customs clearance, it charges a flat fee that varies depending on the tax category and location of the shipment. And for financing and insurance services, it charges a commission on the value of the goods being shipped.
