A Nigerian start up is changing how people get their goods through a digital system and mobile app.
A Nigerian start up is changing how people get their goods through a digital system and mobile app.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
The delivery system is tailor-made for Africa and helps drivers navigate the notorious traffic in Lagos and Abuja to speed up deliveries, according to the company.
The delivery system is tailor-made for Africa and helps drivers navigate the notorious traffic in Lagos and Abuja to speed up deliveries, according to the company.
Courtesy ACE
Run by the people behind the Nigerian online marketplace Jumia, the company Africa Courier Express (ACE) says they can deliver some items in just 30 minutes.
Run by the people behind the Nigerian online marketplace Jumia, the company Africa Courier Express (ACE) says they can deliver some items in just 30 minutes.
Courtesy ACE
Allowing cash payments opens up the market in a country where cash is still king, according to the founders. A mobile app helps them navigate the streets using GPS.
Allowing cash payments opens up the market in a country where cash is still king, according to the founders. A mobile app helps them navigate the streets using GPS.
Courtesy ACE
ACE delivers bank cards, clothes, furniture, vaccines and fried chicken. The GPS allows real time tracking, which reassures customers of the security of their goods and money, the company says.
ACE delivers bank cards, clothes, furniture, vaccines and fried chicken. The GPS allows real time tracking, which reassures customers of the security of their goods and money, the company says.
AFP/Getty Images
Since the launch in 2014, ACE have delivered 350,000 parcels nationwide and work with 1,500 businesses. Around 90% of deliveries are done on a motorbike which makes it easier to move through traffic jams.
Since the launch in 2014, ACE have delivered 350,000 parcels nationwide and work with 1,500 businesses. Around 90% of deliveries are done on a motorbike which makes it easier to move through traffic jams.
PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images
ACE say they have a unique approach to payment and customer identification -- using images and digital signatures -- which helps ensure secure deliveries.
ACE say they have a unique approach to payment and customer identification -- using images and digital signatures -- which helps ensure secure deliveries.
Courtesy ACE
For now, the speedy half-hour delivery is only available for food and drink items, while other goods take between 2 hours to 2 days depending on the item and area.
For now, the speedy half-hour delivery is only available for food and drink items, while other goods take between 2 hours to 2 days depending on the item and area.
Courtesy ACE
Allowing cash payment on delivery is crucial, says co-founder Tunde Kehinde, who hopes to expand to neighboring countries in the future.
Allowing cash payment on delivery is crucial, says co-founder Tunde Kehinde, who hopes to expand to neighboring countries in the future.
Courtesy ACE
The app that's speeding up deliveries in traffic

Story highlights

A start up is changing how people get their goods

Drivers use an app to speed up the process

Some items can be delivered in 30 minutes

CNN  — 

On the streets of Lagos, motorcycles, cars and daredevil cyclists weave through the lanes, jostling for space to avoid getting stuck in the chaotic traffic jams.

Among them are the city’s delivery people who transport food, letters and parcels through the traffic.

If they work for start up Africa Courier Express, ACE, they may only have 30 minutes to get the job done, a challenging feat in the notorious traffic of Lagos.

The aim is to safely connect businesses and customers by taking care of the delivery and payment.

“There are infrastructure challenges, address challenges. It can be hard just to find the address of the customer, and you need to be able to handle cash,” says co-founder Tunde Kehinde. “It’s a big challenge for entrepreneurs looking to get goods to their customers [in Nigeria].”

The company says they have found a way to get around this. Run by the people behind the Nigerian online marketplace Jumia, the company uses a digital delivery system which is tailor-made for Africa, Kehinde explains.

Lagos is known for its notorious traffic.
Lagos is known for its notorious traffic.
PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images

How it works

Businesses use the ACE portal to book the delivery. Drivers are kitted with an app that helps them navigate the streets using GPS, and customers can track their parcels, Kehinde explains.

“We use geo technology to map locations and give customers real time tracking, and we give them the convenience to pay in whatever way they want.”

Offering the possibility to pay on delivery is crucial in Nigeria, Kehinde adds. This is one of the key differences with ACE and other delivery companies.

It’s estimated there are around 200,000 active debit cards in Nigeria for a population of roughly 174 million people, “so most transactions are still done in cash.”

ACE co-founder Tunde Kehinde
ACE co-founder Tunde Kehinde
Courtesy ACE

Boosting pan-African trade

Kehinde started ACE with co-founder Ercin Eksin in 2014.

The company grew in 2015 after securing an $850,000 investment from the African payments company Interswitch.

It now has 120 staff delivering across the country. Around 90% of deliveries are done by motorcycle and the rest by small trucks. The bikes help the drivers squeeze between cars and trucks to get through traffic jams.

In the two years since its launch, ACE’s drivers have delivered 350,000 parcels in Nigeria and work with 1,500 businesses, including Guaranty Trust Bank, Leadway Assurance and IBM.

Now, they are looking to expand across Africa, and hope to help boost cross-border trade.

“We want any small business across the continent to be able to get goods from A to B, track them in real time and get paid. Our aim is to make it easier for the African community to succeed,” said Kehinde.

30-minute delivery

Customers in Lagos and Abuja can get food and drinks delivered in as little as 30 minutes from a selection of participating restaurants.

Other items, such as parcels, bank cards and furniture are delivered across Nigeria in two hours to two days, depending on the item and the customer’s location.

The system continuously builds up a database of addresses and customer details.

“This is critical, because it means that the next time we come to you, we already have the location and we know exactly who you are, so the delivery can be that much faster,” he adds.

Sending vaccines

ACE has attracted the attention of hospitals, helping connect doctors, pharmacies and patients, some of whom have signed up.

Vaccines can be delivered within a couple of hours, according to the company.

“We partner with healthcare pharmacies who want us to help them deliver goods to their customers and hospitals who are trying to trying to get prescriptions to people.”

ACE delivers vaccines and other healthcare products to patients.
ACE delivers vaccines and other healthcare products to patients.
Courtesy ACE

Bank cards are also sent through ACE, Kehinde says.

Though delivering on time in Lagos can be tough, with the notorious unpredictability of the traffic, delays and unforeseen hindrances, Kehinde says delays have not been a big issue so far.

Allowing merchants and customers to track the exact location of the parcel helps reassure them that all is well, Kehinde says.

“ACE really opens up opportunities for small businesses.”