By Lamide Akinola, General Manager of Glovo Nigeria.
Quick-commerce platforms are bridging the gap in traditional e-commerce by giving people what they want, exactly when they want it. Ultra-fast delivery of essentials, from groceries and food to pharmaceuticals and personal care items, has changed how people shop and how they expect the experience to unfold seamlessly.
Just as speed and reliability are crucial for getting items to your doorstep, customers now expect the same level of speed and reliability from customer support, especially in a sector where live issues unfold at a fast pace.
At Glovo, we have always understood that local context and understanding is critical in order to provide great customer support. That’s why Nigeria became the first market in Africa where we have fully localized our customer support operations. By moving our hub from Kenya to Abuja, we are now closer to our customers, partners, and riders, ensuring faster, more empathetic, and more relevant support.
Building trust in Nigeria’s digital marketplace
As a tech platform, our mobile app and website serve as our storefront. Thus, technology alone isn’t enough; it’s the human touch of our customer support that truly brings the experience to life. The launch of our Abuja-based Live Operations Hub represents a major milestone in Glovo’s journey in Nigeria. With more than 90 locally trained agents, our team understands the local nuances and resolve challenges in the dynamic Nigerian cities.
The core nature of an on-demand business means issues are time-sensitive: a rider is stranded, an order is wrong, or a refund is urgently needed. The challenge is handling thousands of high-pressure, varied inquiries instantly across a massive user base, while also tuning into the Nigerian culture. Complex issues are handled by senior specialists, while our frontline team responds to most inquiries within 30 seconds, ensuring customers are never left waiting.
Local expertise combined with AI
Our localized hub combines human expertise with smart technology to ensure every issue is resolved quickly and fairly. Advanced AI tools help our agents route issues to the right team instantly, while human insight ensures the tone, empathy, and understanding is always right.
Supporting smoother navigation
In cities with largely unmapped addresses that are complex to navigate, ensuring accurate deliveries requires more than just technology. Our locally based customer support team plays a crucial role in helping riders and customers connect seamlessly, using their knowledge of neighbourhoods, landmarks, and routes to solve navigation-related issues in real time.
Through hyper-local training and geo-tagging, our agents turn feedback into data that then improves future experiences, helping make every future deliveries smoother
Investing in local expertise
Localizing operations also means investing in local talent. At the Abuja Hub, Glovo provides agents with comprehensive training beyond customer interaction: covering business analysis, data handling, and project management. This not only builds long-term skills but also strengthens Nigeria’s digital service ecosystem.
Looking into the future
Innovation never stops. In Quick-commerce, speed and reliability matter most: fast deliveries, functional apps, and superior customer support is key. Glovo is committed to raising the bar and defining what excellent service looks like in Q-Commerce. We’re proud to keep building trust and long-term relationships that keep users coming back.
