Truck It In

Truck It In is a technology company operating in Pakistan's road freight sector, which is estimated to be a $25 billion annual market. Founded in August 2020 by Muhammad Sarmad Farooq, Raza Afzal, and Haider Navid, the Karachi-based startup aims to digitize and streamline logistics for the country's businesses. The founding team brings relevant experience from their previous roles at Careem and Bykea, where they were involved in ride-hailing, food, and last-mile delivery services. CEO Muhammad Sarmad Farooq, in particular, has a family background in the transport business from the Mianwali/Chakwal region, a key area for long-haul trucking in Pakistan.

The company's core business revolves around a digital marketplace that directly connects shippers with a network of truckers, aiming to disintermediate the traditionally fragmented and broker-heavy industry. For shippers, who are typically small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the platform provides access to a reliable fleet of trucks with transparent pricing, live tracking, and streamlined scheduling. For truckers, many of whom are owner-operators with small fleets, the service offers consistent access to loads and helps secure back-haul trips, which reduces empty miles and increases vehicle utilization by a reported 50%. The business model generates revenue by taking a commission from each completed trip facilitated through the platform.

Truck It In has achieved significant financial milestones, signaling strong investor confidence. The company initially raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed round in April 2021, which was followed by another $3 million, closing the round at $4.5 million. In February 2022, the company announced a major seed round of $13 million, one of the largest for a logistics startup in the MENAP region, bringing its total funding to $17.5 million. This funding was intended to support workforce expansion, particularly in engineering, and to deepen the company's digital footprint in the market. However, by June 2022, amid changing global economic conditions, the company announced it was recalibrating its strategy to focus on sustainable growth and a leaner operational footprint, which involved some staff reductions.

Keywords: freight marketplace, logistics technology, Pakistan logistics, road freight, trucking platform, supply chain management, B2B logistics, shipper-carrier network, freight booking, digital freight, fleet management, haulier services, inter-city transport, cargo transport, back-haul optimization, SME logistics, freight aggregation, Muhammad Sarmad Farooq, Raza Afzal, Haider Navid