Logistics

Tripplo

Tripplo and Standard Bank take the logistics business digital across Southern Africa. Read more about their challenges, the solution and the outcome.

The context

Having personally experienced many of the challenges faced by transporters, cargo owners and cargo brokers in intra-Africa trade and logistics, Victor Chaitezvi started Tripplo in 2018. His vision was to reimagine the logistics ecosystem and create a new standard for African road-freight. To do this, he wanted to build a digital platform that includes cargo booking integration, transport and trip management and efficiency tools to enables the safe and efficient movement of short and long-haul road-freight across the SADC region.

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The challenge

On top of limited funds for expansion, a lack of working capital for product development and restricted access to markets, Tripplo needed the support of a strategic stakeholder that could support the company’s value proposition enhancement, digital product development and enable the delivery of its core system functions.

A particular problem Tripplo needed to solve was to enable fleet owners to advance money to drivers on their trips. They also wanted to provide transparency around how much cash was needed and how it was spent, a problem even more challenging to manage across borders.

The solution

Through their partnership with Standard Bank, Tripplo was able to build a platform that incorporates multiple digital and real-time integrations across our financial services products. These include FX eMarket Trader, Instant Money, Goods in Transit through Standard Bank insurance and Telematics Device Referral with Standard Bank Fleet, as well as fuel supported by Truck Fuel Net.

Our Instant Money team gave Tripplo access to the Instant Money Bulk Issuing platform, in collaboration with the coverage team, ATM and branch network, enabling Tripplo transporters to send money to drivers via ATMs and branches en-route, as and when they need it. This removed the risk associated with carrying all the cash for the journey all at once.

Our Global Markets team also provided Tripplo with access to their Foreign Exchange (FX) rates and conversion digital capability. This meant Tripplo could enable transporters to convert multi-country trip plans into their home currencies, live on Tripplo’s Trip Planning module.

In upcoming releases of their product, Tripplo will be able to aid transporters across Africa in settling cross border payments directly on the platform and applying for FX and current for cross border needs, supported by Standard Bank’s eMarket Trader platform. Early settlements for delivered loads and upfront fuel financing are other key features coming to the platform soon.

We continue to support Tripplo with access to market insights and industry expertise, as well as introductions to potential partners and customers.

The outcome

Today, Tripplo operates a digital logistics platform that facilitates the safe and efficient movement of road freight cargo across the SADC region, providing compliant transporters access to credible cargo brokers and cargo owners. The platform enables Tripplo’s clients to manage all transporter company documents, provides detailed kilometre-by-kilometre trip itineraries for trucks moving goods on any route within the SADC region, while housing detailed information of trucks, trailers, and drivers all in one place, ensuring license, permit and fee compliance.

Standard Bank’s Tripplo partnership is an excellent example of how a “large platform organisation can deploy technology to leverage its own value chains to unlock growth, while working successfully with comparatively small independent start-ups” says Sacheen Kala, Head of the Founders Factory Partnership at Standard Bank’s Moonshots division.

Read more about how Logistics and fin-tech combine to solve Africa’s transport challenges

Darren Segal

Head of Moonshots, Standard Bank

“Chaitezvi effectively transformed the regions’ long-established manually operated cargo logistics industry - in just three months.”