A logistics start-up, Kobo360, has launched its operations in Kenya, a move that is expected to foster seamless intra-African trade by connecting and supporting cargo players, truck owners and drivers, and cargo recipients.
With partners including Bidco Africa, Union Logistics Limited, and Intraspeed ARCPRO Kenya LTD as well as serving millers such as Bakhresa Group, Rafiki Millers and McNeel Millers, the company is on the right path.
Speaking at the launch event in Nairobi, chief executive Kagure Wamunyu said Kobo360 has access to over 3,000 trucks and truck owners, and will offer a powerful supply chain while reducing logistics frictions.
“Over the past five months,” said wamunyu, “our team has been running operations in beta to ensure that we build a strong fleet of trucks and service businesses in Kenya looking to efficiently move goods.”
Beta is an all-in-one robust logistics ecosystem reducing logistics frictions in supply chain via a combination of Internet of Things (IOT), mobile technology and data analytics. In less than six hours, the company matches a user’s request with a selection of trucks of all categories – no telephones, opaque pricing or middlemen needed.
Kenya’s Port of Mombasa is the largest and busiest port in East Africa, handling more than 13 million tonnes every year. The port provides a direct connection to over 80 ports worldwide, whilst serving as a gateway to the East and Central African landlocked countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, and Southern Sudan. As the technology logistics platform revolutionizes the logistics value chain in Africa, currently estimated at $150 billion, Kobo360 is growing its reach in East Africa in order to support the thousands of freight companies who require a safe, reliable and cost effective delivery of their goods to cargo recipients across the region.
Our presence here means we are able to leverage Kenya’s high tech adoption rate to fuel logistics in East Africa and beyond
In 2019, the company launched in Uganda as well as Togo and Ghana, home to West Africa’s leading container ports, and was named as “Disrupter of the Year” at the highly acclaimed Africa CEO Forum Awards in 2019.
“As the largest port in East Africa, Kenya’s Mombasa serves as a gateway to other East African markets. Our presence in Kenya means we are in a position to leverage the nation’s high technology adoption rate in order to fuel logistics in East Africa and beyond. We anticipate to strengthen our links across this region, which will bring us closer to building our Global Logistics Operating System (G-LOS) to ensure fast and low-cost movement of goods for businesses on the continent,” said Wamunyu.
