Nikhil Goel - Afrikan Heroes

Gokada Expands to Ibadan, Nigeria to Resume Ride-Hailing

September 29, 2021

Gokada, the Nigeria-based last mile delivery, logistics and transportation startup, has launched in Ibadan following consolidated growth in Lagos. Gokada started as a ride-hailing app in 2018 and has evolved to become a leading food delivery, parcel delivery, and last-mile e-commerce fulfillment solution.

Gokada secured US$5.3 million in Series A funding in 2019, but was then hit by Lagos state’s motorcycle ban and the untimely death of founder Fahim Saleh. It has bounced back, however, and now has one of the largest fleets of delivery drivers in Lagos and empowers over 30,000 Nigerian businesses to help them serve their customers.
Following the recent successful launch of its super app and as part of its expansion strategy, the company is rolling out operations in Ibadan across its food delivery (GFood) and logistics services (GSend), with plans to resume ride-hailing (GRide) and e-commerce (GShop) later in the year.

As one of Nigeria’s crucial commercial centres with a close proximity to Lagos, Gokada said Ibadan offers significant demand for its last mile delivery services. It also claimed the move would generate thousands of jobs for riders. Having established a strong track record in Lagos, completing more than 1.5 million deliveries, Gokada is focused on replicating its success in Ibadan, where it has onboarded more than 100 restaurants who can now offer delivery to their customers through the Gokada GFood menu in its Super App.
Once the super app is successfully deployed in a second city, Gokada will begin planning for further hubs in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ogun.

“Since launching just a few months ago, the Gokada super app has connected thousands of customers and businesses in Lagos and we are excited to bring our unparalleled service to Ibadan. We want to continue catalysing the transformation of Nigeria’s transport infrastructure through our ultra reliable last-mile delivery solutions; and it is essential to have a solid foundation, particularly with our ever-improving technology, before deploying in a new location,” said Nikhil Goel, the startup’s chief executive officer (CEO).

“We built the largest fleet of delivery riders in Lagos, and we want to do the same here in Ibadan, and offer so much more. Now we’ve reached a juncture where we can move forward with a rigorous expansion strategy that will potentially create entrepreneurial opportunities for thousands of riders to run their own ‘businesses in a box’. The changing business landscape of commerce requires reliable tech-enabled solutions, and while Gokada has come a long way in being part of the change, we’re focussed on further growth across the country.”

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

Gokada Appraises Future Operations, Launches Super App

June 1, 2021

One of Africa’s leading transportation and last-mile startups, Gokada has strengthened its platform to provide food delivery, e-commerce and ride hailing in a new app as it crosses US$100 million in annualized transaction value. The startup which just announced crossing the one million food delivery and ecommerce orders on behalf of over 30,000 merchants in the last 12 months alone, has expressed great optimism that with the launch of its Super App, it will exceed expectations earlier than predicted.

Growth at the company is accelerating, as Gokada has grown its volume >3x in the last 6 months. With increasing internet penetration and ease of mobile payments, the ecommerce sector in Nigeria is set to grow and last mile delivery is set to drive this even further.

Gokada is looking to serve this growing market with expansions from its current base in Lagos, across multiple cities in Nigeria, including Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Ogun. Gokada plans to leverage its recent NIPOST license for cross-country courier and logistics services as it expands across the country.

The company’s new CEO Nikhil Goel said that “The ecommerce and delivery market in Nigeria is growing at an exponential rate and will be worth >US$20 billion over the next few years.

Recalling similar growth experience while working at Zomato in India, he said that “much like in India and our counterparts in other emerging markets, Gokada is building a transport infrastructure from the bottom up, using well-trained riders, powered by technology, to connect businesses large and small with a consumer base in its millions”.

“This launch is core to our objective of positioning Gokada at the center of Nigeria’s e-commerce and delivery revolution”.

In addition to the launch of the Gokada Super App and its multi-city expansion plans, Gokada is also strengthening its Senior Management team, with the recent appointment of Dika Oho as VP Product, who was previously Director of Developer Growth at Andela and will lead Gokada’s product development.

Gokada’s expansion will see the creation of new jobs, with the addition of thousands of new G-pilots, the largest last mile delivery fleet size in Lagos. As well as significantly expanding its last-mile delivery offering, Gokada will also reintroduce its popular ride-hailing service in cities where licenses are available, initially starting with Ogun and Ibadan.

As the company expands its service offering, by providing a reliable and seamless same day delivery service for thousands more businesses across Nigeria, the Gokada Super App, available on Android and iOS, has been developed so customers will have enhanced discovery of key services and products, can access all Gokada pilots at the touch of a button, rate the service instantly and choose single or multi point deliveries.

For the thousands of businesses who rely on the Gokada Super App to fulfill deliveries, they will have access to thousands of pilots, be able to create easy order management, use API integration to create and cancel orders, estimate delivery charges, and receive status updates straight from their mobile device, as well as select route optimization to reduce delivery costs. Gokada currently works with the likes of Eden, Krispy Kreme and Sooyah Bistro, and will continue to build out its technology and G-pilot infrastructure to support Nigeria’s growing business community.

Nikhil Goel concludes, “The past year has shown us all – whether it be for general use or for business continuity – just how much we rely on delivery services to fulfill daily needs. Business is changing, and the Gokada Super App has been designed with that very consideration in mind – keeping customers and businesses connected and updated at all times throughout the delivery process. We are excited to be leading and growing this market segment in Nigeria, delivering a service that we believe will be the backbone and catalyst for the future of commerce in Africa”.

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

Gokada Appoints Nikhil Goel as New CEO

March 17, 2021

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.”

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.”

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