By Dipo Olowookere
An on-demand logistics start-up in Nigeria known as Parcel-it has obtained funding support from an investor based in Germany to expand its operations and reach out to more markets.
The Germany-based investor, Greentec Capital, wants to assist the Nigerian firm grow its business to meet over 20,000 daily delivery requests around Lagos and reach its a $13 billion annual market.
Parcel-it is an alumnus of the prestigious Mr Tony Elumelu entrepreneurship scheme called Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF).
The startup was launched in 2017 and designed to be an open marketplace for dispatching riders and available as a free downloadable app from the Google Play Store or as an API to integrate dispatching with e-commerce providers.
Parcel-it addresses common pain-points such as security through thorough screening and training of its riders, GPS tracking, and providing insurance for the packages in-transit.
Delivery riders are provided with a GPS based location device for their vehicles, which tracks the deliveries in transit and providing real-time information on the package’s journey.
GreenTec Capital Partners invests in African start-ups and SMEs with a focus on combining social and environmental impact with financial success.
The German firm has invested in Kenyan insurtech startup, Bismart earlier this year and has also supported FarmCrowdy (Nigeria), ARED (Rwanda) and AgroCenta (Ghana) in the past.
Business Post reports that the brains behind Parcel-it are Gregory Asenime (Founder, CEO), Anderson Oriahi (Lead Brand Executive) and Samson Akanbi (Technology Partner).
