Topship, a Nigerian tech startup building a shipping platform to help Nigerian merchants ship locally and internationally, has announced an angel round of funding. This round of investment included angel investors from both the United States and Nigeria.
While the pandemic paused the world due and the global economy was going through torrid and turbulent times, Topship was born to fill the gap in international shipping for Nigerians and African merchants.
For the average Nigerian merchant, shipping internationally is a hassle. Excessive charges, logistical uncertainties, hidden charges, uncertainty around customs clearance and various other obstacles make transactions uncertain. Topship’s Co-founder & CEO, Moses Enenwali, believes this is why the company will thrive in the African market.
“We are here to solve this problem and help African merchants move their goods across the world easily,” he says.
Nigerian merchants realise that there’s a vast global market, and the one-year-old startup is working hard to help them access new markets and audiences with ease. Topship’s solution is deploying technology that enables merchants to ship their raw materials and goods back and forth.
The Topship platform allows merchants to select from a wide range of shipping options (express, basic, and cargo) based on various factors, needs and criteria (e.g. price and delivery time). Additionally, shipping cargo internationally is an easy endeavour for merchants.
Merchants can also send foodstuff to select countries and import parcels from across the globe to Nigeria in less than a week. An even more comprehensive range of Topship services can be found here.
Topship’s core business concern is customer-centric in that it wants to guarantee ease for all services rendered. Whether you’re a small-scale entrepreneur trying to export products to a larger market, a student trying to send scripts and documents to Canada, or just a digital millennial looking to shop and have the latest gear delivered to you, there’s a unique offering tailored for you.
At the moment, customers can create an account and have deliveries picked up from their homes or at multiple drop-off locations spread across Lagos and Ibadan for now. A newly designed web platform ensures customers can request shipments, track their shipments, and request quotes all from the comfort of their mobile phones.
Topship is already operating in every state in Nigeria, with plans to open processing centres Nationwide. With Nigeria opening up to the world and increasing exports to other countries, the company is getting on the wave. According to Enenwali, “local manufacturers in places like Lagos, Ibadan and Aba would like to take advantage of this opportunity, and we believe in the next couple of years, we would establish a presence across Africa.”
“Our unique model (asset-light and tech-heavy) allows us to serve a wider range of merchants across the continent and make improvements to the user experience that traditional shipping/logistics companies simply cannot afford to make.”
Topship ultimately aims to be the shipping platform for African merchants, given its rich network and model to handle both express and cargo deliveries. It is both cheaper and more effective, two attributes businesses want the most right now.
You can follow Topship across social media (@topshipng) or send them an email - hello@mytopship.com if you have any enquiries
