The Financial Express
Vahak is a fast growing online transport marketplace community with over 20 lakhs+ India transporters on its platform. The startup aims to digitise the logistics sector which contributes over 14% to India’s GDP. Founded in 2019 by two IITians, it connects truckers, agencies, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the transportation sector directly at 0% commission. The duo want their venture to be more than just a product in the logistics space, they want to transform the way B2B transportation happens in the country.
The story begins with Karan Shaha (co-founder & CEO, Vahak) noticing a huge problem in India’s logistics space – SMEs were struggling to transport their product. To resolve this problem and provide logistics companies with the kind of support they needed to flourish, he joined hands with Vikas Chandrawat (co-founder & CPO), to create Epictus Solutions. This venture helped logistics businesses with GPS and transportation solutions. With Epictus’ rapid growth, the co-founders came to a realisation that transporters needed more than what their venture offered – they needed an extensive platform that would let them digitise all their day-to-day operations.
Also read: Government’s infrastructure push and its impact on the textile industry
And so, after trials, errors and lots of learning – Vahak was born. “At Vahak, we leverage technology to make life better for everyone involved in the $250 billion Indian logistics industry, which has always been fragmented and chaotic,” says Shaha. “Chandrawat and I personally onboarded the first 500 customers and further expanded our technology and talent to grow the platform,” says Shaha. “In the last four years, we have created a reliable and trusted network for ease of doing business within the road transportation sector. By pioneering into the B2B online transport sector, our app aims to improve the lives of truckers with value-added services.”
Over a half million monthly active load bookings are currently managed by the Vahak app. New Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Bhilai, Bhopal, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Kochi, Chandigarh, Vapi, Surat, Nagpur, Patna, and Indore are just a few of the important logistics hubs they cover throughout India. “We are constantly working to offer truckers a variety of value-added services. We recently took over the truck booking app Instalogist, which has assisted us in growing our network and accelerating industry growth,” says Shaha.
Vahak raised a seed round of $800,000 in March 2020, led by Leo Capital, and then a pre-series A round of $5.3 million, led by RTP Global. The company successfully raised $14 million in a Series A round in June 2022, which was sponsored by Fundamental, iSeed Ventures, Leo Capital, RTP Global, and Titan Capital. Nexus Venture Partners served as the lead investor. Vahak platform is being used by over 2 million users.
“During the pandemic year, our app witnessed 20x growth,” Shaha informs. “Vahak Payments (an in-app tool that enables quicker and safer transactions) volume has also grown 100% quarter on quarter. We are now working toward achieving $1 million ARR by December 2023 and adding value added services like insurance, GPS, lending, to ease the lives of the Indian trucking community with a one-stop shop for their critical needs” he adds.
Also read: Farm to peel: Embracing digital technology and sustainable farming
RAPID PROGRESS
* Vahak has 20 lakhs+ transporters on its platform
* Covers 10,000+ cities across India
* App manages over a half million monthly active load bookings
* Successfully raised $14 million in a Series A round in June 2022
* Aims to achieve $1 million ARR by December 2023
Get live Share Market updates and latest India News and business news on Financial Express. Download Financial Express App for latest business news.
