RIYADH: UAE-based digital shipping platform Palletpal has raised $200,000 in a pre-seed round from US venture capital firm Draper Associates. The startup gives companies across the Middle East better control over their shipments whether they are transported by air or sea, allowing them to keep an inventory of the entire shipping process from purchase to delivery. The company plans to use the newly raised funding to grow its brand, expand its team and fine-tunie its minimal viable product (MVP). Palletpal caters to small businesses using an extensive independent network of 50 freight forwarders and carriers, according to founder Adel Hamwi. “These businesses are moving a large volume of products, and they"re being out-priced by large players because the amount of volume that they provide is not enough for them to affect the margins on the forwarder side. We"re giving the power back to the customer. You come to us and fill out a request, and then we will find you the best deal,” Hamwi said.