Nigerian logistics startup Kobo360 has been named Disrupter of the Year at the 2019 Africa CEO Forum Awards in Kigali, Rwanda.
The awards were handed out during an event at the Kigali Convention Centre on Monday night.
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In a statement on Tuesday (26 March), the Africa CEO Forum said the Lagos-based startup received the accolade for registering “immediate and significant success” in a sector in which the forum said costs are higher in Africa than anywhere in the world.
Kobo 360 was up against fellow nominees Jumia, Africa’s Talking, Baobab+ and Intouch for the award. In a press release on Tuesday (26 March), Kobo360 CTO Ife Oyedele (pictured above, far left) said it was “an incredible honour” to receive the award.
Kobo360 was founded in 2016 by CTO Ife Oyedele and CEO Obi Ozor
“We have spent the last two years fully focussed on executing, at scale, on the enormous challenge of moving goods around Africa — starting with Nigeria, but quickly expanding to Togo, Ghana and Kenya,” Oyedele said.
He added that the award is a moment for the startup to celebrate. “But it also acts as a catalyst for us to double down and refocus our attention on the task at hand; creating value to thousands of customers across Africa,” he added.
Oyedele founded Kobo360 in 2016 with CEO Obi Ozor. The startup’s elogistics platform aggregates end-to-end haulage operations to help cargo owners, truck owners and drivers, as well as cargo recipients to achieve an efficient supply-chain framework.
Ghana, Kenya expansion
In a separate statement on Monday (25 March), Kobo360 announced that it is expanding into Accra and Nairobi. The startup’s expansion into Ghana and Kenya follows its official launch in Togo earlier this month where it is affiliated with the Ministry and Office of Postal Affairs and Digital Economy and the Mediterranean Shipping Company.
Kobo360 now plans to launch in Ghana next week and in Kenya in May. In all, the startup aims to expand to nine African countries by the end of the year. The startup explained that the expansion is part of its plans to build a “global logistic operating system” that it says will ensure fast movement of goods at a lower cost for businesses across Africa.
In Nigeria, Kobo360 claims to cover 80% of the country and says it has recorded a 40% cost reduction in the supply chain. Since launch, the startup has partnered with Unilever, Honeywell, LaFarge, and the Dangote Group, moving over 297 million kilogrammes of goods and serviced over 1450 businesses with an aggregated fleet of over 10 000 drivers and trucks.
Last December, the startup landed a $6-million equity investment from the IFC. This after closing a $1.2-million seed round led by US venture capital firm Western Technology Investment in June last year.
Kobo360 — which won the Best Enterprise Solution at the 2018 AppsAfrica Innovation Awards — was also accepted into Y-Combinator’s 2018 Summer cohort, receiving a $120 000 equity investment from the seed fund.
Read more: Kobo360 lands $6-million equity investment from World Bank’s IFC
Read more: Nigerian logistics startup Kobo360 closes $1.2m seed round
Read more: Here are the 14 winners of the 2018 AppsAfrica Innovation Awards
Featured image: Kobo360 cofounder and CTO Ife Oyedele (pcitured on the left) accepting the Disrupter of the Year Award at the 2019 Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda (Supplied)
