Egyptian trucking marketplace Trella joins YC’s S19 batch

Cairo-based trucking marketplace Trella has been accepted into YCombinator’s (YC) S19 (summer 2019) batch.

Trella was founded last year by CEO and former Uber executive Omar Hagrass (pictured above, centre) and CTO Pierre Saad (pictured above, right).

The startup’s B2B platform connects shippers and carriers in real-time, using data to optimise drivers’ routes and increase the volume of backloads.

In a statement yesterday (11 August), the startup said YC opens the door for “invaluable opportunities” in terms of synergies and a chance to collaborate with fellow YC companies and alumni, as well as unparalleled access to YC’s network of investors and partners.

Trella raised $600 000 in a pre-series round in February

YC normally invests $150 000 in each of the startups that join its accelerator.

Hagrass said the startup is “excited” to be part of the programme. “YC has already been super valuable and cemented our position with investors, partners, and stakeholders. We’re looking forward to building something really big,” he added.

Commenting in the same statement, YC CEO and partner Michael Seibel described Trella’s founder as “extremely strong”, adding that they are tackling a huge problem in a region of the world that needs more tech investment.

Earlier this year, Trella raised $600 000 in a pre-series round which it earmarked for capacity acquisition, carrier education and expansion of its product portfolio.

At the time, the startup said it had more than 1000 carriers registered on its platform (see this story).

Another Egyptian startup Breadfast, which delivers bread, eggs and milk to its customers, is also part of YC’s S19 batch.

So far, Trella and Breadfast are the only African startups that have announced that they joined YC’s S19 batch. It is possible that there could be more.

At least seven African startups were among the 189 companies that participated at Y Combinator‘s Winter 2019 Demo Day in March (see this story).

Read more: Egyptian trucking marketplace Trella raises $600k in pre-seed round
Read more: Here are the African startups that pitched at Y Combinator’s Winter 2019 Demo Day
Read more: Y Combinator increases deal size to $150k, adds investment contract types

Editor’s note (26 August 2019): US tech publication reported in an article on 20 August that another Egyptian tech startup Breadfast had pitched at day one of Y Combinator’s S19 demo days. The article has been updated to include this.

Featured image, left to right: Trella head of operations Muhammed El Garem, CEO and co-founder Omar Hagrass, CTO and co-founder Pierre Saad (Supplied)