ADQ, Saudi Technology Ventures Invest in Mideast Uber-like Service for Trucks

ADQ, Saudi Technology Ventures Invest in Mideast Uber-like Service for Trucks
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ADQ, Saudi Technology Ventures Invest in Mideast Uber-like Service for Trucks

ADQ, Saudi Technology Ventures Invest in Mideast Uber-like Service for Trucks

Saudi Arabia-based TruKKer, which offers Uber-like services for trucks in the Middle East and elsewhere, said on Monday it has raised just under $100 million through Series B equity and a debt funding round.

The investments were led by Abu Dhabi state holding company ADQ and Riyadh-based Saudi Technology Ventures, while Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Company (MUDEV.UL) and other existing investors also participated in the fund raising.

TruKKer said it also raised $50 million in venture debt from Mars Growth, a joint venture fund between Liquidity Group and Mitsubishi Group (MUFG), and San Francisco-based Partners for Growth.

According to Reuters, TruKKer describes itself as an online marketplace that connects transporters with consumers and businesses to provide logistics services. The company operates across the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia with a network of more than 40,000 trucks.

"TruKKer will deploy the fresh funds to deepen its presence across all our existing markets and launch several new products and features," said Amit Agwarwal, TruKKer's chief financial officer and a former investment banker.

Trukker in 2019 raised $23 million in its Series A funding round, which was one of the largest funding rounds in its category in the region at the time. The investment was led by STV, which previously invested in Mideast ride-hailing firm Careem, that was acquired by Uber Technologies for $3.1 billion.



Saudi Arabia Launches Carbon-Trading Market Platform to Finance to High Quality Climate Projects

A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Launches Carbon-Trading Market Platform to Finance to High Quality Climate Projects

A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia launched on Tuesday a carbon-trading market, a day after climate negotiators secured a major breakthrough by agreeing rules for a UN-administered global emissions market.

In a statement, Saudi Arabia's Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (RVCMC) said 22 Saudi and international businesses are participating in the platform. They are Alpha Star, Aramco Trading Company, Eastern Province Cement Company, Energroup Limited, flynas, Gulf International Bank (GIB), Golf Saudi, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company Luberef, Ma’aden, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Red Sea Global (RSG), SAB, SABIC, Saudi Top Plastic Factory, SCB Environmental Markets SA, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), SNB, SOCAR, Valitera, Yamama Cement Company and Yanbu Cement Company.

The launch of the platform is a major milestone in Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become one of the largest voluntary carbon markets in the world by 2030.

Its first voluntary credits auctioned will be from projects in the Global South, including Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Vietnam.

The platform aims to scale up the supply and demand of high-quality carbon credits across the Global South and beyond, driving funding to climate projects that require finance, supporting the transition to global net zero emissions, the statement said.

To mark the launch, RVCMC is hosting inaugural transactions on the exchange platform starting Tuesday, auctioning over 2.5 million tons of high-quality carbon credits, it added.

The basket of credits connects buyers with 17 climate projects from across the world and to support Saudi Arabia’s carbon neutrality goals.

The platform is designed to meet market requirements for a transparent, scalable and increasingly liquid marketplace, by offering institutional grade infrastructure, to enable fast and secure transactions, price and data discovery for carbon credit projects, key to growing the market globally and providing a price signal on projects from MENA regions, open market connectivity, integrated with leading global registries, scope to develop specialized infrastructure for trade in carbon credits to enable Islamic Finance and auction market, RFQ and block trade functionality today, followed by spot market and other functions launching in 2025.

Speaking at the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Riham ElGizy, RVCMC’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The message coming into COP is clear: To accelerate global decarbonization we must unlock financial flows to critical climate projects on an enormous scale.”