To expand cross-border trade across Africa, Ghana’s Jetstream raised $13 M

An e-logistics platform for African exporters and importers called Jetstream Africa, located in Ghana, has received US $13 million in debt and equity finance to support its growth.

Founded in Tema, Ghana, Jetstream Africa is an e-logistics business that serves 14 African nations. Pre-financed logistics, are the company’s flagship offering, enabling companies to quickly reserve and track door-to-door logistics, financing, insurance, and other trade support services online.

The firm received a US $3 million seed round in 2021, and with a US $13 million investment, it has now advanced to Series A. New investors include family offices, ASC VC, Octerra, Cauris, Senegal’s Wuri Ventures, Seed9, The MBA Fund, and Proparco through the Digital Africa Bridge Fund.

The financing included participation from previous investors Alitheia IDF and Golden Palm.

The money will be used to assist Jetstream’s entry into new nations as well as the ongoing development of its technological platform, which vertically aggregates the disparate financial and logistics providers that facilitate commerce across the 54 nations that make up the continent.

“With this funding round, we are excited to use our technology to reflect our customers’ data back to them in the form of business insights, so they can trade more profitably,” said co-founder and CEO Miishe Addy.

“The population of Africa is bigger than its production capacity. That’s created a US$50+ billion trade gap. At Jetstream we aim to help regional companies grow their supply chains faster, and close that gap themselves.”

Alitheia IDF co-founder and senior partner Tokunboh Ishmael expressed her company’s pride in working with Jetstream to usher in a daring new future for Africa.

“This round of funding supports Jetstream’s expansion to new markets which capitalizes on trade policies like AfCFTA, enabling richer inter-continental trade which is needed to support inclusive economic development and unleash the continent’s full potential,” she said.

Jetstream has proven its capacity to develop cutting-edge solutions to increase Africa’s trade competitiveness, helping to resolve one of the continent’s biggest concerns, according to Babacar Seck, senior investment officer for venture capital at Proparco.

“As a long-term investor in Africa’s development, we support Jetstream’s mission and look forward to supporting its growth across the continent,” he said.