Nigeria-based startup, Kwik, has announced the raise of $2 million in Series A funding led by XBTO Ventures to add more services to its existing last-mile delivery services.
The startup which is also based in France was launched in Lagos in 2019 with last-mile delivery service offered to B2B merchants and from social vendors to e-commerce platforms.
According to thee startup founder and CEO, Romain Poirot-Lellig, Kwik will use the funding in this new round to add a financial solution to its existing offerings. Other investors in this round include Humla Ventures, Nabuboto, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot and Pulse Africa founder Leonard Stiegeler.
Having established in Nigeria, the startup sets itself up for competition from known names like GoKada who also have a remarkable presence with its last-mile delivery offering in many parts of Nigeria. However, Kwik has also had a remarkable run since it was established in 2019. The startups has also launched in Nigeri’s capital territory, Abuja, where it also boasts of more than 100,000 merchants who use the platform – both on web and its mobile application – to run a number of logistical, commercial and financial needs of their businesses. And according to Romain, there are more than 75% weekly active users on the app.
With the fund raised, the startup wantf to make do on what the founder had earlier said about its product when he disclosed that Kwik wants to “bring the informal economy into the formal economy,” by focusing on last-mile delivery, e-commerce (warehousing and fulfilment) and the proposed financial services it is about to add.
Speaking about the startup offerings, Romain said: “Our goal is for Kwik to become the prime app choice for African social vendors and traditional merchants going digital. Integrating delivery, payment and e-commerce tools seamlessly in one easy-to-use mobile app is a catchy proposition. This financing round will enable us to expand across all three key verticals and select geographic areas. We are purely a software company. We create a community and a matchmaking playground. We ensure that we enforce the rules of the playground, both on the merchants’ side and on the partners’ side. The financing part is the last part we’re building. For the moment, we connect riders and financing institutions that are willing to finance bikes. On top of that, we’re going to launch a B2B lending marketplace by the end of the year to enable merchants to get financing.”
Investors King also gathered that the startup is aiming to use the funds to acquire more customers and expand its reach beyond Lagos and Abuja with plans already on the way for Ibadan, Kano, Port Harcourt and Kaduna.
Poirot-Lellig also disclosed that the company plans to increase the number of merchants on its platform to 800,000 by the end of 2022.
