Gokada, the Nigeria-based last mile delivery, logistics and transportation start-up has launched in Ibadan, Oyo State, in Nigeria, targeting to serve the city’s nearly 10 million people following consolidated growth in Lagos.
Ibadan is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano. It’s close proximity to Lagos makes it a natural next launch city for Gokada’s unmatched last mile delivery services. In Ibadan, Gokada is rolling out its food delivery (GFood) and logistics services (GSend), and aims to resume ride-hailing (GRide) and e-commerce (GShop) later in the year.
According to Nikhil Goel, CEO of Gokada, “Since launching just a few months ago, the Gokada Super App has connected thousands of customers and businesses in Lagos and we are excited to bring our unparalleled service to Ibadan. We want to continue catalysing the transformation of Nigeria’s transport infrastructure through our ultra reliable last-mile delivery solutions; and it is essential to have a solid foundation, particularly with our ever-improving technology, before deploying in a new location.”
The launch in Ibadan will generate thousands of jobs for riders who can now serve the thousands of businesses that require access to a seamless last-mile logistics network in the city.
Having established a strong track record in Lagos, completing more than 1.5 million deliveries on behalf of 30,000 merchants, Gokada is focused on replicating its success in Ibadan. The company has boarded more than 100 restaurants who can now offer delivery to their customers through the Gokada GFood menu in its Super App.
After the Ibadan launch, Gokada is looking at entry into Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ogun. This additional growth is being driven by Nigeria’s e-commerce and last-mile logistics sector which is growing at 11% per year, boosted by recent changes in shopper behaviour and demand for last-mile delivery.
In the coming months, Gokada’s license with NIPOST will enable its fleet to fulfill a cross-country logistics service, linking delivery between Lagos and Ibadan via a Super App for the first time. This opens up opportunities for merchants in both cities to expand their customer bases and tap into new areas of growth.
“We built the largest fleet of delivery riders in Lagos, and we want to do the same here in Ibadan, and offer so much more,” added Goel. “Now we’ve reached a juncture where we can move forward with a rigorous expansion strategy that will potentially create entrepreneurial opportunities for thousands of riders to run their own ‘businesses in a box’. The changing business landscape of commerce requires reliable tech-enabled solutions, and while Gokada has come a long way in being part of the change, we’re focussed on further growth across the country.”
Gokada has recorded over 100,000 downloads and expects this growth to continue as they expand into some of Nigeria’s key cities, providing the same reliable and seamless service for thousands more customers.