Kobo360, Nigerian tech-enabled platform that aggregates end-to-end haulage operations, is set to launch in Accra, Ghana and Nairobi, Kenya in April and May respectively. This announcement follows after the company launched in Togo, West Africa’s largest shipping port.
The plans to expand its operation started last year, when it raised $6 million equity investment led by the International Finance Corporation to upgrade its platform and expand operations to Ghana, Togo and Cote D’Ivoire.
The firm estimates that Africa needs ten times the number of trucks to meet short term commercial transport needs because of its poor railway systems. The Global Logistics System will ensure fast movement of goods at a lower cost for business across Africa.
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In a statement, Ife Oyedele, Co-founder and CTO of Kobo360, said: “Kenya is the hub of East Africa, it is the most innovative market in Technology and if we win here, we have won across the region. From here we will expand to Uganda and Tanzania. By adding Ghana to our West African territories of Togo and Nigeria, we will link all the market to a Global Logistics System and this will help us to serve our customers across a seamlessly lined Pan-African market. By this we create value to our customers as we are in all the key countries in the continent”.
The company plans to extend to other key markets and expects to be in nine African countries before the end of 2019. “Location is a critical factor in global logistics, and each African country we’ve chosen to expand into has its own value proposition. These markets are among the fastest growing economies and we want to grow with them by supporting the thousands of freight companies who require a safe, reliable and cost effective delivery of their goods to cargo recipients across Dangote Group, Lafarge, DHL and Unilever.
Kobo360 was launched in 2016, with a vision to revolutionize the logistics value chain in Africa. Currently estimated at $150 billion, it connects end-to-end haulage operations to help cargo owners, truck owners and drivers, and cargo recipients to achieve an efficient supply chain framework. It has transported over 297 million kg of goods, serviced over 1450 businesses and fleet of over 10,000 drivers and trucks. Kobo360 utilizes a combination of Internet of Things, Mobile Technology and Data Analytics in a robust logistics ecosystem to reduce logistics frictions in supply chain.
The Kobo360 Togo office was officially launched on March 14th, 2019.
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