Kobo360, a logistics marketplace is launching in Accra, Ghana and Nairobi, Kenya, just days after the company launched in Lome, Togo – home to West Africa’s largest shipping port.
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 firm estimates that Africa needs ten times the number of trucks to meet short-term commercial transport needs due to poor railway systems. Kobo360, are building a global logistics operating system [G-LOS] that will ensure fast movement of goods at a lower cost for businesses across Africa.
Backed by international and African investors, including International Finance Corporation [IFC], Y Combinator and TLcom, Kobo360 is taking on Lori, Sendy, Bwala among others in East Africa.
The beta operation in Ghana has recorded over 100 trips serving big clients such Olam Ghana, among others. In the coming weeks, Kobo360 Kenyan team will meet with drivers and equip them with the tools they need to run trips effectively as it continues its test in the East African country.
The company now plans to aggressively 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 the continent,” Oyedele added.
To-date, the company has partnered with global logistics brands including Dangote Group, DHL, Unilever and Lafarge and has moved over 297M KG of goods, serviced over 1,450 businesses and aggregated a fleet of over 10,000 drivers and trucks. Launched in 2016, with a vision to revolutionize the logistics value chain in Africa, currently estimated at $150Bn, Kobo360 connects end-to-end haulage operations to help cargo owners, truck owners and drivers, and cargo recipients to achieve an efficient supply chain framework. Through an all-in-one robust logistics ecosystem -reducing logistics frictions in supply chain via a combination of Internet of things (IOT), mobile technology and data analytics.
Kobo360 matches a user’s request with a selection of quality trucks of all categories reducing back and forth telephone costs, opaque pricing and expensive middlemen in the logistics industry.
Kagure Wamuyu, will be COO East Africa and Bilal Abdullah, will be COO West Africa as the firm prepares to officially launch in Ghana on 4 April, and in Kenya by May 2019.
Kobo360’s officially launched in Togo in March, where the company announced its affiliation with the Ministry and Office of Postal Affairs and Digital Economy, as well as the Mediterranean Shipping Company.
