Revolutionising On-Demand Deliveries in Nairobi the case for DeliveryMan Africa

The general cost of moving goods in Africa is one of the highest in the world. 75% of product costs go to logistics in the continent as compared to 6% in the United States.

Add the notorious traffic jams across major cities and it becomes even more expensive for goods to get around. The poor transportation and logistics network also makes it difficult for those operating e-commerce platforms to scale smoothly, especially when it comes to last-mile deliveries.

It is not unusual for one to order for a product and have it delivered at a cost that is not only expensive but unreasonable, sometimes the same or more than the product cost. Much to the detriment of the client who bears these costs.

However, within all these challenges lies lucrative opportunity investors and innovators to come up with new ideas as well as solutions to transportation and logistics. There is a dire need for effective, reliable and affordable ways to reach even the furthermost customer in a country.

In Kenya, a spot check on delivery costs say around major cities depends on the location and is fairly expensive leaving room for improvements. The challenge lies in long-distance deliveries where costs can be very high.

Enter DeliveryMan Africa, a transport and logistics startup offering on-demand services, taking advantage of cost-sharing as well as economies of scale to navigate various challenges. The company customizes transportation and logistics services to suit various businesses as well as individual customers, aiming to cut down waiting time while offering affordable prices for last-mile deliveries.

DeliveryMan uses a model that is tried and tested in countries such as Nigeria, where similar firms such as Kwik are using motorcycles for logistics and transportation – giving established companies a run for their money.

In an interview with Inversk, Evans Wafula, founder of DeliveryMan Africa comes across as passionate for reliable, efficient and affordable on-demand transportation to his clients. Having started from delivering small parcels within and outside Nairobi, dropping from office to office, Wafula has built DeliveryMan to become a reliable partner to Ecommerce delivering across the county.

“We have packaged ourselves into a long-distance delivery company, but we compile the parcels, let’s say we have 3 or 4 going to Busia, we combine them and send them together charging each client equal amounts. Then in Busia we have an agent where the clients will pick their parcels,” he explains.

Targeting eCommerce sites, individuals, corporates, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), wholesalers, pharmaceuticals, retailers and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), DeliveryMan Africa partners with motorcycle riders and existing infrastructure to ensure the clients get the best service.

DeliveryMan services are even more relevant during this period of Covid-19 where businesses are going online due to various measures undertaken to fight the spread of the virus.

According to Wafula, the company registered a 50% growth in orders during the Covid-19 period, with orders growing from 50 to 100 per day and still increasing.

The company also has a merchant app, Deliveryman Merchant, where partners with various shops across Nairobi to drive down delivery costs from the normal charges of Ksh 400-500 to as low as Ksh 150.

“We have launched Deliveryman Mtaani to incorporate partner-shops all around Nairobi where clients can pick their parcels. What we do is combine the goods going a certain route, for example, Waiyaki way, we will drop deliveries to our outlet shops for areas such as Westland, Kangemi, and Uthiiru all the way to Kikuyu.” Wafula says.

He adds that the firm plans to introduce crowdsourced delivery by partnering with the driver plying the same route as the intended deliveries. “The driver takes a number of parcels and drops them at our drop off points where the clients will pick from.”

However, Deliveryman has an uphill task of making a mark in an industry with more established players such as Glovo, Lori, Sendy, and Jumia among others These companies are way ahead with their own infrastructure and stock.