After the gruesome death of its founding CEO Fahim Saleh in July 2020, Nigeria-based last-mile delivery, logistics and transportation start-up Gokada has announced a replacement in the person of Nikhil Goel as its new CEO. Goel joined Gokada in 2019 as a Vice President of Rides, bringing with him extensive experience in the global last-mile logistics space as he worked in India as General Manager of unicorn food delivery start-up Zomato, and then as Head of New Verticals at SafeBoda in Kenya.
A statement from Gokada says that Goel has helped the company increase its revenue by 10X and grow it’s delivery order volume by 100X, enabling the company to reach profitability in the past 12 months. Commenting on Gokada’s current business model, Nikhil Goel said, “Gokada now serves thousands of individuals and businesses across Lagos. Our range of delivery solutions now spans a number of sectors such as food delivery, grocery delivery, parcel delivery, eCommerce fulfilment, and more. What makes me so proud of Gokada is the company’s Never-Give-Up attitude. Even in the midst of the pandemic which shortly followed the ride-hailing ban, we were able to bring most of our pilots back to jobs while in parallel launching reliable logistics solutions to support businesses in Nigeria, which allowed them to continue to provide their services to their customers.”
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Speaking on the current business model, Nikhil Goel said, “Gokada now serves thousands of individuals and businesses across Lagos. Our range of delivery solutions now spans a number of sectors such as food delivery, grocery delivery, parcel delivery, eCommerce fulfilment, and more. What makes me so proud of Gokada is the company’s Never-Give-Up attitude. Even in the midst of the pandemic which shortly followed the ride-hailing ban, we were able to bring most of our pilots back to jobs while in parallel launching reliable logistics solutions to support businesses in Nigeria, which allowed them to continue to provide their services to their customers.”
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While the company began as a ride-hailing service, it has since become a leader in food delivery, parcel delivery, and other “last mile logistics” solutions throughout Lagos. With a growing fleet of over 1,000 riders and thousands of SME customers, Gokada plans to expand across other states in Nigeria in 2021. In the last year, the company has tackled and surmounted many challenges; from the okada ban to the ‘EndSars’ protests in October 2020. As they expand into new geographies and verticals, Goel’s strong track record of prior success in the sector is poised to be a big advantage for Gokada.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry