Nigerian startup Messenger is supporting gig workers and logistics businesses with asset financing and credit to power local deliveries.
Messenger streamlines logistics by offering financial resources to operators like riders and drivers, connecting them with businesses for efficient last-mile deliveries, which enables trade and commerce to thrive.
Co-Founder, Amanda Etuk says “No one was [really] financing the last mile players.”
To date, Messenger has clocked up over 4,000 users on its delivery hailing platform, and financed 150 motorcycles.
Starting 2018 as a traditional logistics business, Messenger serves the most popular Nigerian e-commerce brands and individuals with logistics needs. The company incorporated technology into its processes and pivoted to solving the challenges they faced as a traditional organisation.
Amanda adds that the company is planning immediate expansion across Francophone Africa:
“In my current sojourn across West Africa, I find that the people and markets are more similar than those, for example, in East Africa, besides the language barrier. Also, we play in an industry that is ubiquitous, when you combine logistics and finance we have ready off-takers across the continent.”
Messenger received funding from The Baobab Network and Nama Ventures this year, and derives income from commissions on local deliveries, insurance, and interest on its asset and operations financing. According to Amanda, the company has earned close to US$1 million since launch.