A Technology Company backed by Google, Haul247 is set to establish a logistics ecosystem that will meet the high demand of companies in accessing trucks and warehouses across Africa.
Mr Sehinde Afolayan, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Haul247, said in a statement on Thursday that the ecosystem would operate like the ‘Airbnb’ for trucks and warehouses.
“The firm was founded alongside Tobi Obasa and Akindele Phillips during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 because there was an urgent need to bridge the widening gap in trucks and warehouse accessing,” he said.
Afolayan said that logistics had been recognised as the key to unlocking Africa’s commerce potential.
He said that currently, logistics industry on the continent remained fragmented, with informal carriers operating more than 80 per cent of the market with one to three vehicles.
Afolayan said that Haul247, a Google Black Founders’ Fund grantee, was set up to among other things, address the supply-demand mismatch since the ecosystem lacks the capacity to optimise itself.
“Most companies cannot accurately predict and forecast since different vendors handle transportation and warehousing needs, this makes it hard for them to control, distribute and plan their logistics requirements effectively.
“In response to this, Haul247 is birthed to be the “Airbnb” for trucks and warehouses in Africa as its value proposition is a simple unique platform offering opportunities for clients to transport and store their goods in one logistics ecosystem.
“Most manufacturing companies in Africa concentrate their manufacturing hubs in one city and move or distribute their products to other cities and towns across the countries.
“Typically, truck owners charge manufacturers and shippers exorbitant fees since they have to absorb the empty return leg but with Haul247, the system matches orders with available assets with our ‘Airbnb’ approach for trucks and warehouses.
“Partners are assured of reverse hauling, and shippers are charged less than they normally pay, this reduces transportation costs and guarantees efficient asset utilisation,” Afolayan said.
According to him, any solution to logistics in Africa that do not solve warehousing challenges will be more costly, inefficient, and risky.
He said that the company had already on boarded 14 enterprise and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) businesses and also had over a thousand trucks on its roster, with about 150,000 square meters of warehouse space available across multiple locations.
“Over the next five years, Haul247 is looking to expand into other African countries.
“It is also working to upgrade its technology and integrate with key logistics Enterprise Resource Plannings (ERPs) to serve clients and partners better.
“Ultimately, we want to bring about increased efficiency in the logistics industry across the continent.
“Improve trade mobility across African cities and commercial hubs, and provide better storage and financial products for our users,” Afolayan said.
