Kwik, a Nigerian logistics startup has raised $2million in a series A funding. The firm which specialises in providing last-mile delivery services to B2B merchants ranging from social marketplaces to e-commerce platforms. The announcement came announced on Thursday, March 24, 2022.
The round was led by XBTO Ventures-a crypto finance company with a venture capital arm that invests in digital assets and other types of startups. Humla Ventures, Nabuboto, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, and Pulse Africa founder Leonard Stiegler were among the new and current investors.
The company currently operates in Lagos and Abuja both in Nigeria and it’s looking to expand to other cities in the country and continent shortly and by raising $2million in funding, its dreams are possible. Kwik uses technology to solve logistics and transportation issues and create economic opportunities for young Africans of promise. Kwik provides its services through a mobile app and focuses on B2B customers. However, anyone can create an account by downloading the app on the Google Store or the Apple Store or accessing the service through the service website.
Once an account is created, the customer can specify pick-up, delivery addresses and other options such as the type of delivery and the system proposes a delivery price. Once the customer has checked out the order, the price is fixed and a ‘Kwikster’ will promptly come to pick it up at the specified location.
Romain Poirot-Lellig, the company’s founder and CEO, says his goal is to “bring the informal economy into the formal economy,” emphasising last-mile deliveries, e-commerce (warehousing and fulfilment), and financial services.
“We want Kwik to be the go-to app for African social sellers and traditional businesses who want to go digital.” “It’s a tempting concept to combine delivery, payment, and e-commerce features in one simple smartphone app,” he added. “With this round of funding, we will be able to expand across all three main verticals and certain geographic locations.”
Kwik reported on January 11, 2022 that its GMV and revenue for 2021 increased by over 400% year-over-year and the platform now has 100,000 B2B customers. The firm began serving B2B clients in Lagos, Nigeria in June 2019 and has since grown leaps in terms of both customer base and offerings.