Nigerian e-logistics company Kobo360 was named Disrupter of the Year at the Africa CEO Forum Awards in Rwanda in March.
The Y Combinator-backed firm beat out established firms such as Jumia, Africa’s Talking, Baobab+ and Intouch, according to Technxt.
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The Africa CEO Forum convenes African CEOs and investors with the goal of unlocking Africa’s economic potential through private-sector growth.
The Kobo360 platform helps connect the supply of trucks with the demand for transportation services by cargo owners, and promotes itself as an “Uber for trucks”.
In Nigeria, the platform’s service covers more than 80 percent of the country. It is disrupting the logistics industry by reducing supply-chain costs by 40 percent, according to a press release.
It has partnered with global logistics brands including Dangote Group, DHL, Unilever
Kobo360 raised a $6 million funding round in December 2018, with Silicon Valley investors Western Technology Investment and Y Combinator contributing to the round, according to Ventureburn.
The equity investment round was led by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group. African institutional investors Cardinal Stone Partners, Chandaria Capital and TLcom Capital also participated.
The Nigerian platform took part in the Y Combinator accelerator program in July 2018.
The $6 million funding round added to a $1.2 million pre-seed investment raised by Kobo360 earlier in 2018 from U.S.-based Western Technology Investment, according to Pulse.
The company used some of the funds raised in 2018 to expand into Togo, Kenya and Ghana, according to PCTechmagazine.
It launched in Togo during March, with Ghana operations up and running from April, while Kenya will come online in May.
