Shipwaves

Overview

Shipwaves was a Mangalore-based startup aiming to bring transparency and efficiency to the freight forwarding industry in India through a digital marketplace model. The venture, led by Athahar Mohammed, Shahid Israr, and Mohammed Haris, sought to modernize a traditionally fragmented sector through technology-driven solutions.

Client Mandate

In 2016, Spectrum Communications was engaged to build awareness for the venture among shippers and potential investors, while positioning Shipwaves as an innovative platform within the freight forwarding ecosystem.

Challenge

Freight forwarding is a highly niche and fragmented industry, heavily reliant on conventional practices and long-standing personal relationships. Additionally, well-established international players such as Flexport and Freightos already had strong visibility in the global market, making it challenging for a new Indian startup to gain recognition and credibility.

Approach

Spectrum launched a global media awareness campaign for Shipwaves, targeting leading trade publications in the container and shipping industry across the United States, Europe, and Singapore, along with key business media in India.

The campaign strategically referenced the success of international platforms like Flexport and Freightos to build confidence in the Shipwaves marketplace model among Indian shippers. Promoter profiling stories and human-interest narratives highlighting the platform’s efficiency and speed were also used to demonstrate the practical benefits of the solution.

The Shipwaves story was featured across leading international trade publications and Indian business media, including Tradewinds, Splash 24x7, Journal of Commerce (JOC), The Economic Times, and YourStory.

Outcome

Within two years, Shipwaves was recognised as one of the most promising startups in Asia by Journal of Commerce (JOC), a leading Singapore-based container industry publication, reinforcing the platform’s credibility within the global freight and logistics ecosystem.