See more as Nigerian startup Zendit wants to transform delivery services in Nigeria with AI

When Olubisi Solagbade ran an online fashion accessories concern successful Lagos, unreliable transportation services often near her frustrated and customers disappointed.

Today, she’s tackling that occupation head-on arsenic co-founder of Zendit, an AI-powered logistics startup aiming to velocity up transportation crossed Nigeria.

Zendit bets connected velocity and affordability to alteration Nigeria’s transportation market Photo credit: klingsup
Source: Getty Images

Launched successful 2021, Zendit is building a decentralised web that connects businesses of assorted sizes to reliable courier options for last-mile transportation nationwide successful 24 hours, providing real-time tracking and ensuring cost-effective transportation solutions.

The startup, co-founded by Solagbade alongside Abiodun Falomo and Peter Okonmah, promises faster, much affordable transportation options for tiny businesses and individuals.

Speaking with Legit.ng connected Zendit, Solagbade said:

"Zendit started arsenic an thought successful 2021, an thought that was calved retired of symptom and passionateness to lick a problem."As a tiny concern proprietor successful Nigeria, I experienced transportation challenges for implicit 6 years, ranging from delays, disappointments owed to unreliable work that damages customers' trust, to the symptom of closing a woody with customers conscionable to suffer them to the transportation fee. "My co-founder besides had the privilege of moving successful the logistics assemblage and was managing a presumption wherever helium encountered tons of complaints and challenges specified arsenic excessive delays successful the transportation of parcels they sent retired from their presumption to different states and towns, insufficient workforce to be to prime up and deliveries, unaffordable pricing system. My co-founding squad and I conducted a broad survey, reaching retired to the perspectives of 1000 customers. The results were rather revealing: 83% of them expressed their desperation for the swift transportation service, portion the remaining 17% were peculiarly funny successful affordability, owed to fund constraints. This was however Zendit started."

Changing the look of transportation work successful Nigeria

Zendit’s decentralised exemplary connects businesses with couriers nationwide. The institution has partnered with 4 large transport firms and employs 15 merchandise marketers to grow its reach.

Solagbade added:

"We are gathering the largest decentralized web of last-mile couriers successful Africa to supply entree and ratio successful last-mile transportation for tiny businesses done an AI-powered mobile app. "For merchants seeking quick/same time transportation of their products to customers nationwide, Zendit is simply a integer logistics aggregator that connects them to harmless and affordable options by giving them the prime to prime from a wide scope of disposable couriers fitting for their need.""Our superior competitors arsenic logistics aggregators see the likes of Uber but are incapable to fulfill the interstate transportation needs of our users, portion our secondary competitors see commercialized autobus drivers with whom we person partnered to springiness last-mile transportation entree to their customers arsenic opposed to picking up their products astatine the terminal oregon parkland hence providing a win-win concern for all."But what sets america isolated is that we facilitate 24-hour section and interstate delivery. We connection a terms bargain connected the platform. We supply speedy entree to aggregate work providers astatine erstwhile for choice."

Olubisi Solagbade shares Zendit concern exemplary astatine FMCB Herccelerate 1.0 Photo credit: Solagbade
Source: Facebook

Challenges and ambitions

On however Zendit marque money, Solagbade said:

"Zendit has been operating connected freemium since we launched successful April 2024, getting radical acquainted with the merchandise till October 2024 erstwhile we implemented our gross model, done subscription and commissions from our partners and couriers connected the platform."

With a freemium exemplary to promote adoption, but switched to a subscription and commission-based gross exemplary successful October 2024.

Challenges and Ambitions

Digital logistics adoption successful Nigeria remains a hurdle, with galore tiny businesses perceiving tech-driven solutions arsenic costly oregon complex. Zendit is moving to alteration that narrative.

Solagbade said:

“We walk a batch of clip educating our users.” Our extremity is to marque logistics accessible and affordable for everyone.”

The startup plans to motorboat its mobile exertion connected Google Play Store aboriginal this year, making it easier for businesses to publication and way deliveries.

Zendit’s long-term ambition stretches beyond Nigeria. The institution wants to powerfulness commercialized crossed Africa portion creating jobs. By 2027, it aims to facilitate logistics-driven employment for implicit 1 cardinal Nigerians and empower 200,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

For aspiring entrepreneurs, Solagbade has elemental advice:

“Stay customer-obsessed, physique beardown networks, and don’t beryllium acrophobic to pivot erstwhile things don’t spell arsenic planned.”

The triple menace to Nigerian startups

Ealier, Legit.ng captured the communicative of Precious Adesina-Ola, an accomplished concern person with implicit a decennary of expertise successful commercialized management, tech sales, and maturation selling crossed assorted industries, including SME, FMCG, Automotive, Logistics, and FinTech.

She revealed that the challenges include constricted funding, infrastructural gaps, and endowment acquisition and retention. I’ll halt astatine these three.

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Source: Legit.ng