Bifasor, based in the Ivory Coast and founded by Zakaria Dabone, is a professional network and marketplace for Africa’s freight transport and logistics industry. Bifasor puts shippers, carriers, freight forwarders, warehouse operators, mechanics, automotive and spare parts manufacturers and dealers, and other interested parties–from Africa and from around the world–into direct contact with one another. The service provides them with a unique dashboard to manage their interactions so that they can offer, find, stock and deliver goods. Basically it acts like a matchmaking platform, much like Tinder. Bifasor also provides an online marketplace for the sale of goods and services related to transport and logistics.
Zakaria had previously spent time in the transport industry before starting Bifasor. His family members were managers of a transport company based in the Ivory Coast and their daily challenges inspired him to create Bifasor. With a highly segmented supply chain, lack of information that isolates players in the sector, (needlessly long) delays and exorbitant costs, transporting goods falls is a real-life obstacle course. All these difficulties slow down the commercial development of the continent with knock-on consequences that adversely affect access to goods and services by local populations. Which can have far more dire implications, especially when it comes to delivery of humanitarian assistance to disaster or epidemic-affected areas.
Bifasor aims to address this lack of transparency in the supply chain and the general lack of visibility of smaller actors in the industry. With nearly 90 per cent of small and micro enterprises in the logistics sector in Africa having neither a website nor a marketing department, presence on the platform will assist such companies in gaining visibility.
The idea of digitizing the relationships between those in the supply chain appeared as an obvious solution, because it would effectively streamline operations, and reduce costs and delays. The platform would bring together all those involved in Africa’s transportation supply chain which will increase their visibility, allow them to contact and interact with one another instantly, permit them to create personal networks of partners and clients, and empower them to grow their businesses.
With trade volumes in Sub-Saharan Africa expected to nearly quadruple to 384.6 million tonnes by 2030, the Bifasor team has developed a solution for everyone involved in the supply chain, particularly targeting small and medium-sized transport and logistics companies.
