Augment Ventures August 2023

Portfolio Highlight: Secro – DocuSign for Maritime Trade

Secro: The Most Modern Platform for Electronic Trade Documents Secro is a SaaS platform that facilitates cross-border trade through the digitization of maritime documents and secure collaboration services. The company is building a platform with the next generation electronic bill of lading (“eBL”) by combining functions of a paper bill of lading with increased speed, lower costs, and unrivalled security.

Massive Industry Tailwinds to Push eBL Adoption
Current adoption rates of eBLs sit at around ~2% due to the sector’s conservative approach to technology, lack of legal standardization, and interoperability concerns. However, two recent announcements signal maritime trade is on the precipice of widescale eBL adoption.

The first was the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) declaring their commitment to fully adopt eBLs by 2030. This group includes MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, HMM, ONE, Yang Ming and ZIM. For more on the announcement click here.

The second major event was the Electronic Trade Documents Bill becoming an act of law in the UK – this allows businesses to officially use electronic trade documents. The UK is seen as a legal leader in international trade and a domino effect is likely to occur. For more on the announcement please click here.

Globally, governments and shipping companies alike recognize the vast impact eBL adoption can have on time, cost, and the environment. The UK government estimates eBLs can reduce the processing time for all parties from 7 days to 10 minutes. Additionally, eBL adoption will eliminate the need for 50+ page paper bill of ladings. For every 1,000 eBLs used it saves 4 tons of CO2, 24 trees, 780 gallons of water, and 792 gallons of marine fuel.

Michele Sancricca, CEO and Co-Founder, Secro
The inevitable switch away from paper is a massive opportunity for eBL companies like AVF III portfolio company Secro. CEO Michele Sancricca commented on the recent news:

“The question ‘is the eBL legal?’ is now out of the table. This clearly paves the way for digital negotiable instruments massive adoption, as DCSA’s goals forebode. Secro, being natively compliant with the new UK legislation and the Singapore Electronic Transaction Act, is providing the industry with a proven, most compliant, and secure e-bill of lading solution in the market.”

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