It is often said that – ‘necessity is the mother of invention, a proverb that arguably accounts for the recent rapid growth of technology-based startups in Nigeria. Today, Nigeria is the 33rd largest market for e-commerce with a revenue of US$6.9 billion in 2021, placing it ahead of Denmark and Colombia. It is no wonder some refer to Nigeria as “Silicon Savannah”— a rising power in the tech world. This goes to show that young people in Nigeria and Africa by extension are strategically positioned to solve the hard problems that plague the continent, paving the way for the emergence of new markets.
However, the ease of business in the e-commerce industry has been marred by logistical problems associated with offline processes as regard to the safe pickup and delivery of bulky and fragile items. In the quest to bridge this gap, forward-thinking young Nigerians have introduced platforms that ensure the safe delivery of items, providing reliable options for both the customers and merchants simultaneously. Leading this charge with exemplary services and products is Kiakia. The Kiakia brand has created a distinctive array of products and services tailored to the logistics needs of Nigerians. These products and services allow Nigerians to enjoy safe, versatile, and convenient logistics engineering from any part of the country.
The brain-child of Kiakia, Adepoju Phillips, a 22-year-old Entrepreneur, and commercial agrofarm owner, and Adewale Sulaiman a self-taught programmer, Kiakia was birthed after the founders noticed a dearth between purchasing items and the safe delivery of the said items to the final consumers. Speaking on the inspiration behind the brand, Philips shared that the idea of Kiakia was a result of the frustration he encountered when trying to send a parcel urgently within 20km of his then location. According to him;
“First, I couldn’t get a reliable and trusted dispatch rider on time because I was trying to send an expensive item that could be easily carted away and damaged if not handled with care. I searched online for logistics companies and almost all that I found gave excuses of how they were fully booked for the day and would have to send my parcel the next day but I couldn’t wait because it was an urgent delivery. The others I found weren’t helpful either. The first one had a very complicated app and glitches that wouldn’t let me even pass the sign-up page while the second had extremely high fares. I ended up paying the high fares, and added to that, had to plead and promise the rider a tip to ensure speedy same-day delivery. This frustration prompted me into deep critical thinking and I reached out to my good friend Adewale who coincidentally, had just recently experienced something similar. That day, we promised to figure out a solution and proceeded to carry out market research as to why there were limited logistics companies other than the numerous small-scale logistic business owners with limited service range and capabilities. That promise has led us here and with Kiakia our goal is to resolve the last mile delivery issues in Africa”.
As a full-service dispatch company, Kiakia is strategically positioned to upscale businesses in Nigeria by providing a sustainable model that results in a win-win for all parties involved. In this regard, Kiakia connects individuals and businesses with nearby thoroughly vetted delivery agents to solve delivery needs with the Kiakia Magic App. Also poised to contribute their quota to solving unemployment in Nigeria, the brand offers independent delivery agents (car owners, truck drivers, and dispatch riders) the opportunity to sign up, accept and complete deliveries, thereby making sustainable income on their schedule with the Kiakia Pilot App.
Subsequently, the Kiakia Partners App (a fleet management product), allows small-scale logistics business owners to sign up and onboard their delivery agents to accept and complete deliveries with the privilege to track and manage their delivery agents’ activities and also receive immediate direct remittance of all payments for completed deliveries. Kiakia is not only committed to solving delivery issues by connecting users with nearby vetted delivery agent’s alone, but the brand has also created a conducive platform for the delivery agents to deliver items on time and with ease by implementing several laudable features including the Route Navigator which gives and directs the delivery agent’s on the fastest routes using Google maps to deliver multiple ongoing errands within their estimated delivery time frame.
With all of this and more, the Kiakia brand is well on the way to solidifying its place as an industry leader, committed to enabling all players in the e-commerce industry to experience seamless transactions, while guaranteeing security, quality service, and satisfaction. In the near future, the brand hopes to become available and accessible to solve individual and business delivery needs in every city of Africa from Nigeria to Ghana, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, and the rest of Africa. To stay up to date with their brand and their products and services, find them across all social media platforms:
Instagram; https://instagram.com/kiakia
Facebook; https://facebook.com/KiakiaHQ
Twitter; https://twitter.com/KiakiaHQ
Linkedin; https://linkedin.com/company/KiakiaHQ
Website; https://kiakia.africa
