Lori Systems, a tech-enabled trucking logistics platform has launched into Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan after winning multiple bids associated with the newly built US $4 billion railroad system in East Africa, with the joint goal of driving down the costs of goods in the region and unlocking the region’s growth potential.
“We’ve opened new locations in Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda. Over the past year, we have grown rapidly – both in terms of throughput on the system as well as the team. Our team has grown from 15 to 70 since February and adds experience from organizations such as McKinsey, DHL, and NASA. Lori is focused on hiring the best talent in order to execute on bringing down the costs of goods across the continent,” the CEO Josh Sandler said.
The firm has also partnered Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway to help reduce the costs involved by truckers in moving bulk imports and exports.
“We’re so excited to announce our working partnership with the Standard Gauge Rail in Kenya. In our continued efforts to bring down the costs of goods, we have been rapidly ramping up our operations to tackle massive transportation issues. We’ve already had success in bringing down direct costs of moving bulk grains, achieving a 17 per cent reduction in Uganda,” said Sandler.
The firm also recently partnered with Kuehne + Nagel, DHL and Cargill to allow them to extract greater insight from their logistics data and drive informed action through improved technology, analytics, and operations.
To further reduce transportation costs and respond to increased demand, Lori has recently brought on top talent from across Africa. Jean-Claude Homawoo, Harvard Business School alum, joins Lori as Chief Product Officer from Google where he was a Product Lead. Prior to that, he was iROKO’s VP of Strategy.
Andrew Musoke, Head of Commercial, is a former Vice President at JP Morgan and Harvard Business School alum from Uganda. Lori also recently brought on Mehul Bhatt to run the East African region as it focuses on pan-Africa expansion. Bhatt is the former CEO of Maersk Tankers India and ran one of biggest clearing and forwarding agencies in East Africa.