A new report based on data gathered in the second and third quarter of the year has identified 120 tech companies that operate in Africa’s logistics sector.
The report, titled Digitising Logistics in Africa, is based on a study conducted by London-based think-tank and data driven research firm Briter Bridges in partnership with Lateral Capital. The report can be downloaded for free here.
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Briter Bridges says the data in the report is based on primary and secondary research, and includes information vetted from the firm’s internal databases which it claims are comprised of “thousands” of African companies and ecosystem players.
When asked by Ventureburn, Briter Bridges founder Dario Giuliani stressed that the organisation used as a definition for startups, tech companies not older than 10 years.
The report breaks these down into various sub-veriticals, namely:
- Shipping and freight
- Freight forwarding or management
- Courier services and last mile delivery
- Storage and warehousing
- Cold chain
- Addressing systems
The report’s authors noted that in coming up with the number of 120 firms, they opted to exclude tech companies operating in food delivery, e-commerce delivery, mobility and transport as well as pharmatech and medical supply deliveries verticals.
The Digitising Logistics in Africa report features insights from founders, investors and industry experts
As part of the study, the research firm surveyed over 40 tech companies in the logistics sector from across the continent.
In addition, it also carried out seven in-depth interviews with the founders of Lori Systems (Kenya), MaxNG (Nigeria), Mpost (Kenya), LifeBank (Nigeria), Trella (Egypt), Parcelninja (SA) and Jetstream (Ghana).
The firm says it also got insights on the logistics sector and its development from industry experts and investors.
Giuliani said some of the key findings in the report include how the growth of tech companies in the logistics sector is a by-product of on-demand culture, rapid urbanisation and a rise of e-commerce.
With regards to the 40 surveyed companies, the report’s authors identified a spike in the number of tech companies founded, with a third of respondents (about 13 companies) having been founded last year, compared to 16 who were established in 2016 and 2017.
“Also, motorbike and courier area has been growing as a consequence of the ability of apps to match existing, under-utilised assets such as bikes and vans as a delivery vehicles.
“This also intersects with the rise of multi-functional apps such as Max.ng or Safeboda, who are using their riders network to add delivery services,” added Giuliani.
Read more: ABAN, research firm Briter Bridges partner to map Africa’s investment landscape
Read more: $50m Lateral Capital to review 1000 possible deals a year to back six investments
Featured image: music4life via Pixabay
