UPDATE (13th of July 2019): Techpoint has recently learnt of Rydefast, a new player in Nigeria's motorcycling space. Right now, the model being used is to flag down a bike and negotiate price. More updates on this.
The Nigerian motorcycling hailing industry is literally bustling with a lot of excitement, following a spate of significant investments by players.
It goes beyond the enticing investments, which are in excess of tens of millions of dollars. There's also the prospect of competition and diversity which the likes of ORide and EasyMobility also add to the industry.
But for all the sensational headlines about the motorcycling hailing industry, the individual players responsible have been less conspicuous. So Techpoint takes a look at their personal profile.
Adetayo Bamiduro and Chinedu Azodoh
MAX Okada, which is from the stables of Metro African Express (MAX), is Nigeria’s first motorcycling hailing app. So it is fitting to recognise Adetayo Bamiduro and Chinedu Azodoh as the people not only behind the company but also the motorcycling hailing revolution in Nigeria.
Both individuals Co-founded MAX.ng to transform mobility and logistics across Africa using mobile technology.
Before moving to take on the green-headed monster called Lagos traffic, their initial focus was on-demand delivery where they ensure order or package is delivered in no more than 3 hours.
One can only imagine the numbers of people whose lives have been made easier and whose jobs have been saved because of the journey Adetayo and Chinedu dreamt of starting.
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Chinedu is an alumnus of Illinois Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before co-founding MAX, he had worked at Barclay’s and Goldman SachS. Adetayo, who also studied at MIT, has worked with NLNG and Konga before going on the MAX adventure.
- Backed by: Novastar Ventures, Yamaha and others
- Funding: Over $8.1m to date.
Ayodeji Adewunmi and Fahim Saleh
Ayodeji and Fahim are both CEOs of Gokada, but each have different backgrounds.
Ayodeji helped build Jobberman, which is arguably the biggest job and recruitment site in Sub-Saharan Africa. Jobberman was later acquired in 2015 by OAM.
Fahim on the other hand is a Bangladeshi entrepreneur experienced in the transport industry. He founded and exited Pathao, a motorcycle, bicycle and car transportation company, which happens to be one of the most popular ride-sharing services in the country.
Individually, both CEOs have their separate responsibilities at Gokada. Ayodeji, aside from being the president of the company, is responsible for finance, operations, people, and regulatory affairs, while Fahim in addition to being the chairman and lead investor is in charge of products, tech, and marketing.
You might not easily associate their faces with Gokada when you see the dark green motorcycle drive by, but make no mistake about the people driving transformation within the company.
- Backed by: Rise Capital and others
- Funding: Over $5.6m to date.
Adekunle Omololu
Adekunle Omololu is the CEO of the commercial motorcycle startup, EasyMobility. EasyMobility started off as a taxi company about two and a half years ago, operating an Uber-style model with eleven cars under its fleet.
Adekunle eventually sold off the cars to start the motorcycling company which is EasyMobility today. And from just testing with one single bike EasyMobility is now a 300 fleet bike company at present.
You might have observed that EasyMobility’s model is quite different from MAX and Gokada, and that is because the target market is the riders and not the end users.
In a recent chat with Adekunle however, he emphasised that demand is soon about to force them to launch an app service for EasyMobility whilst planning to increase their fleets of bikes to 1000 before the end of the year.
Adekunle attended Kings college Lagos for his secondary education. He started his university education in Covenant university, then moved to Lead City and then finally left the country to finish up in Leeds University in England. There he finally bagged his bachelors degree in Business Administration.
- Backed by: Family and friends
- Funding: Undisclosed
ORide (OPay)
Even as Opera, owners of the popular Opera Mini browser, announced a $40 million fund aimed at developing digital services in Nigeria, the individual investors behind that expansion remain relatively unknown.
But it is clear an area they’ve focused heavily on is motorcycle hailing, and this explains the new venture, ORide.
Opera has been testing ORide for a while until its recent launch on May 27th this year.
The introduction of ORide no doubt represents a pivotal moment for the Nigerian bike-sharing market, as the competition has become stiffer.
- Backed by: Opera
- Funding: Practically unlimited
