Lori
Founded
2016 in Nairobi, Kenya — Lori Systems was established to digitize and optimize Africa’s vast and fragmented haulage and logistics industry, providing a technology-enabled marketplace and transport management tools that improve efficiency, transparency, and cost-effectiveness for shippers and transporters across the continent.
Founders & Leadership
Josh Sandler — Co-Founder
Jean-Claude Homawoo — Co-Founder
Ernest Gichini Ngaruiya — Co-Founder
Location
Nairobi, Kenya — with operational presence across multiple African markets including Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa and others, coordinating a network of thousands of trucks moving cargo across the continent.
Industry
Tech-Enabled Logistics / Supply Chain & Transportation — focusing on digital haulage marketplaces, transport management systems (TMS), and logistics optimization tools for cargo owners and freight transporters.
Overview
Lori Systems is a technology-driven logistics platform that connects cargo owners with vetted transporters, enabling digitally coordinated freight haulage across Africa. Drivers, trucking partners, and shippers use the platform to manage documentation, payments, route planning, pricing transparency, and real-time tracking. Since its launch, Lori’s marketplace has facilitated movement of billions of dollars’ worth of cargo (e.g., over $10 B) across the continent. The company’s system increases asset utilization for transporters while reducing logistic inefficiencies — a major cost driver in African supply chains where logistics costs can account for up to 75 % of final product price.
Core Features & Capabilities
Tech-Enabled Freight Matching: Matches shippers with suitable, vetted transporters efficiently and transparently.
Transport Management Tools: Provides end-to-end documentation, cargo tracking, invoicing, and payment solutions on one platform.
MFW4A – Making Finance Work for Africa
Fleet Utilization Optimization: Increases truck asset utilization through data-driven routing and load matching.
Real-Time Tracking & Updates: Keeps shippers informed with frequent location and status updates.
Cargo Safety & Vetting: Transports freight with vetted carriers and stringent quality controls, helping ensure safety and reliability.
Target Market
Large & Mid-Size Manufacturers / Shippers that handle regular bulk transport and need reliable logistics coordination.
Freight Transporters & Truck Operators seeking consistent cargo opportunities and increased asset utilization.
MFW4A – Making Finance Work for Africa
Supply Chain & Logistics Teams within FMCG, agriculture, construction, and export-oriented industries needing efficient haulage tech.
Regional Trade & Commodity Distributors needing cost-effective, transparent cargo movement solutions across borders.
Value Proposition
Lori Systems addresses one of Africa’s most critical economic bottlenecks — prohibitively high and inefficient logistics costs — by offering a digital freight orchestration platform that drives down costs, increases transparency, and improves utilization of trucking assets. By connecting cargo owners directly with transporters and embedding digital tools for paperwork, tracking, and payments, Lori:
Cuts logistics costs significantly (often by double-digit percentages) compared to traditional manual freight coordination.
Boosts transporter revenue through optimized routing and more consistent load matching.
Improves reliability and visibility across complex, cross-border transport corridors.
Supports broader economic growth by reducing product costs and improving supply chain efficiencies for African producers and distributors.
This value proposition positions Lori as not just a logistics marketplace but a digital backbone for freight operations across Africa, enabling scale, data-driven decision-making, and improved competitiveness for businesses operating in frontier markets.