Trucking startup backed by Maersk decides to exit Pakistan

Trucking startup Trella has decided to wind down its business in Pakistan, exiting an economy going through one of its biggest crises.

The Egypt-based company stopped taking new orders last month, according to two people familiar with the matter. Trella, which raised $42 million in 2021 from investors including the venture arm of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Recent macroeconomic turmoil means Trella’s business there was unsustainable, the people said. The startup, which entered Pakistan in 2020, will retain some staff to assist its operations in Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. 

Pakistan has incurred multiple downgrades by rating agencies because of a delay in its loan program with the International Monetary Fund. It has restricted imports because of a dollar shortage, seen its currency drop by a third of its value, and almost doubled fuel prices in the past year. All that impacts the trucking business. 

Pakistan’s startup economy is also experiencing a funding crunch along with a squeeze in the valuations of global technology companies. In the past year, Vitol-backed VavaCars has exited Pakistan, Dubai-based Swvl Holdings paused daily rides, Uber’s Careem suspended food delivery and Airlift, which raised a record $85 million, folded.