• UAE-based digital freight platform Palletpal has raised $200,000 in a pre-Seed round from US-based Draper Associate.
• Founded in 2021 by Adel Hamwi, Kareem Ghanam and Ali Nawaz, Palletpal  looks to streamline the heavy container shipping process by enabling companies across the Middle East to have better control of their shipments.
• The company plans to use the freshly raised funding towards growing its brand, expanding its team and fine-tuning its minimal viable product (MVP). 

UAE-based digital freight platform Palletpal has raised $200,000 in a pre-Seed round from US-based Draper Associate.

Founded in 2021 by Adel Hamwi, Kareem Ghanam, Antonio Chidiac and Ali Nawaz, Palletpal is an asset-light platform that looks to streamline the heavy container shipping process. It enables companies across the Middle East to have better control of their shipments whether they are moved through air, sea or ocean, while allowing them to keep stock of the whole shipping process from purchase to delivery.

According to Hamwi, the company caters specifically to small businesses since it relies on a wide independent network of 50 freight forwarders and carriers. 

“These businesses are moving a large volume of products, they're being out-priced by large players because the amount of volume that they provide is not enough for them to affect the margins on the forwarder side. We're giving the power back to the shipper to the customer. You come to us and fill out a request, and then we will find you the best deal and have bids coming in for you,” says Hamwi.

By automating the freight transport process, the platform helps in plugging existing gaps in data and knowledge sharing in logistics, much of which remains in the dark.

"Freight is the gateway to logistics. The way we deliver our services is by creating a logistics network. During our research time, we realised that the data was actually being trapped in these emails. Around 80 per cent of the data that was collected in logistics was trapped in emails. What that means is if I need to go back and see how much I spend on a certain shipment," saidHamwi.

The company plans to use the freshly raised funding towards growing its brand, expanding its team and fine-tuning its minimal viable product (MVP).