PAPS, Senegalese logistics startup raises $4.5m to expand across Francophone Africa

PAPS, a Senegalese startup, has acquired a pre-Series A fundraising round of US$4.5 million from local and international investors to help it develop its tech-enabled logistics solution across the Francophone African area.

PAPS, which debuted in September 2016, provides end-to-end logistics solutions for companies with both physical and online operations. Its technology enables organizations of all sizes to manage their logistics demands effectively, with services such as storage, international transit, and last-mile deliveries.

The firm told Disrupt Africa in 2018 that it aspired to be the largest distribution service in French-speaking Africa, and after expanding to Ivory Coast, it is now aiming further expansion after raising US$4.5 million in finance.

4DX Ventures and Orange co-led the investment, including participation from existing investors such as Saviu Ventures and Uma Ventures, as well as new investors such as Yamaha Motors, LoftyInc Capital Management, Proparco, the Google Black Founders Fund, To.org, Kepple Africa Ventures, and Enza Capital.

PAPS has done over 10 million deliveries in Senegal and Ivory Coast with the largest last-mile fleet in Senegal, and it now plans to expand into other French-speaking countries in West Africa.

“I am really proud of the incredible work done by all of the PAPS teams that has allowed us to make this fundraising a reality today.” Our goal is simple: to be the first pan-African logistics company to meet international standards.

Every day, we make it our duty to assist our clients in being more productive and efficient. “I am especially happy by the trust shown by these prominent investors, who are joining us to construct tomorrow’s logistics,” said PAPS co-founder and CEO Bamba Lo.

4DX Ventures co-founder and general partner Walter Baddoo expressed his firm’s admiration for the PAPS team’s execution and drive to “building a truly creative business in the logistics industry.”

“We believe that technology has a key role to play in modernizing Africa’s logistics infrastructure, and we look forward to working with Bamba and the PAPS team on this next stage of their evolution,” he said.