Trukker, which provides an Uber-like digital network for lorries and pick-up trucks in the Mena region, is expanding its operations to Poland and Kazakhstan, the two key logistics centres in the EU and Commonwealth of Independent States, as it looks to boost growth.
The latest development comes after the company raised $100 million in series C funding in September, led by Bahrain’s Investcorp.
The company is also backed by large institutional investors such as Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi holding company ADQ, Riyadh-based venture capital fund STV and the International Finance Corporation.
It raised $96 million in February this year to expand its operations.
“Poland and Kazakhstan are strategically located along the Belt and Road route at the crossroads of Eurasia,” said Gaurav Biswas, founder and chief executive of Trukker.
“Poland's convenient transportation, low freight costs and high logistics performance index, which ranks 28th globally, provide favourable conditions for Trukker to access European supply.”
Kazakhstan, on the other hand, is the regional centre for the surrounding economies, with trade arteries spread across Europe and Central Asia, Mr Biswas said.
The global road freight industry, which has grown consistently in the past decade, was valued at about $3.1 trillion in 2020, according to a Frost & Sullivan report.
While the industry was hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic, the report forecasts that global road freight revenue will grow by an average of 4.3 per cent a year from 2020 to 2025.
"We are already operating active haulages in the Mena markets,” said Pradeep M, co-founder and chief technology officer of Trukker.
“The opportunity in EU and CIS lanes are exciting and we plan to partner with digital marketplaces and also invest in the region while the EU is facing certain economic challenges. We plan to build a strong business during a downturn."
Established in 2016, Trukker employs real-time technology to support land freight in the Middle East.
It entered the business-to-business space in 2018 and currently has a fleet of more than 40,000 lorries, with customers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and Turkey, according to its website.
The company is exploring a potential listing on Saudi Arabia's Tadawul stock exchange in an attempt to tap into the region's growth potential, Mr Biswas told The National in December 2020.
“Our stations in Poland and Kazakhstan will create additional infrastructure to our strong presence in Turkey," said Hakan Arikan, regional director for CIS and Eastern Europe at Trukker.
"This will help us to service our clients on both sides with additional reliability and efficiency.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 820Nm
Price: Dh683,200
On sale: now
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Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Population: 44.13 million
Armed conflict in Donbass
Russia-backed fighters control territory
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
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