VenturesNow

Nigerian-based Kobo360 raises US$1.2 million seed round

Nigerian-based logistics startup Kobo360 has raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding round soon after being accepted into the YCombinator class of 2018

Published

6 years ago

July 1, 2018

Africa News Watch

Nigerian-based logistics startup Kobo360 has raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding round soon after being accepted into the YCombinator class of 2018.

The round was led by Western Technology Investment and Nigeria’s Verod Capital Management.

Kobo360 has developed an Uber-like app that connects Nigerian truckers to companies with freight needs. The startup intends to use the funds to pay drivers online immediately after completing a successful haul.

Within just 4 months since their launch, Kobo360 reportedly processed orders worth an estimated $2.8 million. The company reportedly coordinates 5,000 trips a month, has served 324 businesses and moved north of 37 million kilograms of cargo since 2017. It currently has 5,480 active drivers using the platform.

Kobo360 is looking to launch its app in Hausa and Pidgin by August this year. It also plans to add 20,000 trucks on its platform and expand to Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Senegal.

Click to comment

VenturesNow

Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery exports first fuel to Cameroon

Published

14 hours ago

December 12, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Dangote Refinery in Nigeria said on Wednesday that it had exported its first petrol to Cameroon, marking a significant milestone that may help stabilise gasoline costs throughout the region and open the door for regional energy integration.

When fully operational, Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s 650,000-barrel refinery in Lagos is intended to alter the trade of refined products in the Atlantic basin and compete with refineries in Europe.

According to a statement by Neptune Oil, an energy company based in Cameroon, both businesses were looking into new projects to create a dependable supply chain that would assist in stabilising fuel costs and opportunities throughout the area.

According to Neptune Oil, there were no middlemen involved in the petrol delivery deal.

It is anticipated that the refinery’s operations will spur growth in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors, increasing investments in cement manufacture, plastic and rubber production, chemical and pharmaceutical goods, and oil refining.

VenturesNow

Egypt’s November inflation drops to 25.5%, near 2-year low

Published

2 days ago

December 11, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to figures released Tuesday by statistics agency CAPMAS, Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rate fell more than anticipated to 25.5% in November, the lowest level since December 2022.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused international investors to pull billions of dollars out of Egyptian treasury markets, inflation started to rise sharply in early 2022.

In September 2023, headline inflation reached a record high of 38.0%. It dropped to 26.5% by October 2024.

In a Reuters survey last month, 15 economists’ consensus prediction was for annual inflation to gradually decline to 26.4%.

According to CAPMAS statistics, headline inflation decreased from 1.1% in October to 0.5% in November every month.

Compared to October, when they fell 1.1%, food costs fell 2.8% over the month, making them 23.3% more than they were a year ago.

An increase in the money supply has been a major contributor to inflation. According to central bank data, Egypt’s M2 money supply increased by 29.54% in October compared to the same month last year.