DIGITAL DISRUPTION: How Nigeria’s GIGL is leveraging tech to dominate logistics industry amid COVID-19 pandemic

With so much investment diverted by industry leaders into tech lately, the race to go completely digital has become fiercely intense, with tens of thousands of other businesses beginning to design a cloud approach to sustain their ventures.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, companies have been forced to switch modalities, taking their meetings online to consistently brief their staff members on developments necessitating immediate attention.

In some manufacturing plants, with tele-guided restrictions on movement in major cities across the globe, the overt use of machines has grown more than ever before, and the world is already witnessing massive workforce lay offs as a result. Across industries, the story is the same.

In Nigeria, while some business models are changing (forcefully) in order to stay relevant as lockdown is religiously observed, some CEOs, however, are only perfecting their lot to stay ahead of the curve.

Nigeria’s businessman and digital disruptor Chidi Ajaere, chairman, GIG Group, is one of the few in the latter category, investing heavily in tech to champion the future of doing business in Nigeria. Having ventured into tech-enabled businesses years before the coronavirus pandemic, his group of companies (notable among them: GIGMobility and GIGLogistics) have leveraged tech to deliver better even during the pandemic.

Reviewing trends, as it relates to infusing technological innovation into service rendering, quite outstanding in the pack, GIG Logistics is unarguably one of those companies consistently relying on technology to scale despite the limitations of the COVID-19 era.

When, in 2019, it launched GIGGo for download on playstore, it became Nigeria’s first of a kind on-demand app for pick up and delivery within Lagos, Nigeria. And, ever since, the industry soon found a model to instantly adapt.

In embracing the new logic, following government’s order to effect lockdown to contain the spread of the deadly COVID-19, this Lagos-only idea at inception has been extended swiftly to cover four other major cities (Asaba, Abuja, Benin and Port Harcourt in Nigeria, standing as one of the biggest business breakthroughs around the COVID-19 crisis.

Today, in Nigeria, against the odds and challenges of the lockdown, the app “GIGGo” is bridging the gap between those who need certain items and the people who have those items, going forward to facilitate a hitch-free transaction clicks away.

Read also: GIGM joins effort against COVID-19 spread, offers to donate buses to Nigerian govt

If for no other reasons, this Chidi Ajaere company is dominating the competitive logistics industry in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous black nation. It’s, therefore, evident, from the GIGL approach, that it is building commerce solutions for the future.

The company’s new expansive headquarters in Lagos speaks of its determination to lead in the logistics space and conquer its dream of being the “platform that allows anyone- whether an ecommerce vendor, grocery shop owner, drug store, or family member separated by circumstance- to ORDER pickup and delivery of ITEMS from the comfort of their HOME or wherever, at the TAP of a BUTTON.”

Obviously, not by chance does this accurately cater for a lockdown, promoting contactless transactions simply by using technology.

Tech enthusiasts have, hence, attributed the company’s orchestrated success to its sense of belonging as reflected whenever it goes forward to craft its customers’ future. This, according to them, has earned GIGL the right to win and thrive in any economy.

From being just a mainstream player in 2015, the company now fits perfectly into its current label of a full-fledged digital disruptor.

Ayo Adenaike, GIGL’s Chief Operations Officer, drives the point home when he speaks modestly to the company’s progress amid the COVID-19 era.

He said: “With a few taps from a phone, people can stay indoors yet order any type of delivery vehicle to pick up all the items they need and we deliver as fast as possible to their doorstep.

“GIGGo is set to see Nigerians through these trying times, and as well support the future of commerce in Nigeria.”

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