Gokada To Take On Safeboda, Set To Launch Bike-hailing Service In Ibadan And Ogun
Gokada to take on Safeboda, set to launch bike-hailing service in Ibadan and Ogun
Gokada is one of the more well-known names in Nigeria's last-mile logistics space. Prior to February 2020, it was well-known for its bike-hailing services, providing another option for people who needed to quickly navigate the dense traffic in the country's commercial capital of Lagos.
A ban on bike-hailing by the Lagos State government resulted in the closure of that arm of Gokada's business, which has since shifted its focus to logistics.
However, a new chapter in the three-year-old startup's journey is about to begin. Following Max.ng and Safeboda's lead, it is reviving its e-hailing business with a firm focus on markets outside Lagos. It will begin with Oyo and Ogun States.
Gokada will revert to the super app model, similar to how Opay did when it was still operating all of its verticals. Users will be able to access all of the company's existing services as well as the new ride-hailing feature through a single app.
Currently, the startup offers the GSend and GShop apps, which enable users to send and receive packages and food, respectively.
Users in Ibadan and Ogun now have access to GSend and GShop services, as well as the ability to hail a bike. In Lagos, users will have access to all features except ride hailing.
Nikhil Goel, CEO of Gokada, told TechCrunch that users had been requesting the super app for some time.
“What we discovered from our customers was that while they were using GSend and GShop independently, they came to us asking if we could combine them,” he explained.
Despite a difficult 2020, the company managed to do quite well for itself. According to Gokada, its revenue increased tenfold that year and its volume increased threefold within six months.
Another significant milestone for the company was exceeding $100 million in annual transaction value. It fulfilled over 1 million food delivery and e-commerce orders for its platform's over 30,000 merchants.
Goel took over as CEO of Gokada following the heinous murder of Fahim Saleh, the company's founder and former CEO.
He joined the company in 2019 as Vice President of Rides, progressing to Chief Operating Officer, President, and finally CEO in 2021.
He has experience with food delivery as a result of his time as a general manager at India's Zomato. As the company takes on Safeboda and makes further inroads into the logistics space, Goel's experience will prove beneficial in properly positioning the company.
In Conclusion
The competition has already begun in Ibadan. Safeboda and Max.ng are market participants in this space.
About three months ago, Safeboda celebrated its first anniversary in Nigeria. The country manager, Babajide Duroshola, told Technext that the company is just getting started in all of its operations. With over 2,500 riders already signed up to Safeboda and a strong track record, the battle promises to be intense as Gokada enters the fray.
Despite this, there is still ample space in Ibadan for Gokada's bike-hailing business. As Duroshola pointed out, “In a city the size of Ibadan, with over 3,000 square kilometers and only 80,000 active okadas, there is still a lot of land to cover.”
