KOBO360 operates an on-demand logistics marketplace that matches manufacturers and trading houses with truck drivers and microfleet owners, and it layers payments, insurance, and financing into that platform. The company built Kopay to service drivers and later launched Payfasta, an embedded finance platform, to accelerate collections from large manufacturers. KOBO360 invested about $4 million to create an insurance product covering goods-in-transit, driver behavior, and credit default, and it has deployed $100 million through Payfasta to finance drivers and partners. Those initiatives drove measurable improvements: nonperforming assets fell to 0.8%, profit margins rose 240%, and the receivables cycle shortened from 138 days to 49 days. After pivoting from blitzscaling to sustainability and stronger unit economics, the company is pursuing a longer-term product vision to build a Global Logistics Operating System (GLOS) on blockchain to combine African supply-chain activities and unlock more capital. Kobo360 is a Nigerian freight logistics startup that operates an Uber-like app connecting truckers with companies for delivery services. Since launching in Lagos in 2017, it has expanded into Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Kenya and claims a fleet of more than 10,000 drivers and trucks. Top customers include Honeywell, Olam, Unilever, Dangote and DHL. The company emphasizes driver support, offering its app in Hausa and Pidgin and providing services such as KoPay working-capital finance, KoboSafe insurance and KoboCare benefits. With $30M in fresh funding, Kobo360 plans to upgrade its platform, build a blockchain-enabled Global Logistics Operating System (GLOS) to broaden into supply-chain services, and pursue expansion into 10 new countries. It aims to leverage Africa’s Continental Free Trade Area to reduce cross-border friction while remaining focused on its home market as it scales. Kobo360 operates an Uber-like app that connects truckers with companies and is building a broader logistics operating system and platform. The company is developing supply-chain management tools for enterprise customers, including integrations with services like SAP and an API. Kobo360 plans regional expansion into Ghana, Togo and Cote D’Ivoire and intends to open 100 hubs across Nigeria to improve operations, inspections and proof-of-delivery. It will add warehousing and reverse-logistics capabilities and expand driver programs (training, insurance, discounted petrol, vehicle financing/KoboWin and an HMO under KoboCare). Per company figures, Kobo360 has served 900 businesses, aggregated a fleet of 8,000 drivers and moved 155 million kilograms; drivers reportedly earn about $5,000 per month on average. Founder Obi Ozor said the company is profitable but does not publicly release financial results. Kobo360 runs a digital, asset-light platform that matches truck drivers with freight demand via a mobile app, coordinating roughly 5,000 trips per month. The company reports having served 324 businesses, aggregated 5,480 drivers and moved 37.6 million kilograms of cargo since 2017. Kobo360 says an average trucker on its platform can earn about $3,500 per month and the company is profitable, according to its CEO. It plans to use new funds to enable immediate online payments to drivers and to scale a crowd-invest vehicle-financing program called KoboWIN that lets citizen investors finance trucks repaid over 60 months. Kobo360 will also add driver training and safety programs and roll out app versions in Hausa and Pidgin. The startup intends to expand regionally to Ghana this year and to Togo, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal next year.

Total raised

$85M

Funding rounds

6

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Sep 2022