Kobo360 – Solving the African Freight Paradox
A digital freight marketplace that connects shippers to reliable long haul trucks, improving cost, speed, and visibility in African supply chains.
Moving goods across Africa is expensive and unpredictable. A shipper may wait days to find a truck, then lose track of it on the road. For truck owners, idle time and delayed payments cut earnings.
Kobo360 was built to close that gap. It created a digital market where cargo owners can book vetted trucks, follow trips in real time, and pay through a structured system.
The promise was clear. Better truck use for operators, faster and cheaper freight for enterprises, and clean data for the supply chain.
Kobo360 aimed to make long haul trucking work like a modern network, not a phone call gamble.
Key Numbers
Series A includes $20M equity and $10M working capital. The 2021 round combined equity and a large working capital facility.
Note: Truck, shipper, and driver counts from IFC disclosure. Funding totals reflect verified rounds through 2021 and public reporting up to March 2025.
Company Information
Kobo360 is a tech enabled freight platform that aggregates long haul trucking for enterprises. It matches cargo demand with truck supply, adds trip monitoring, and coordinates payments. The company started in Nigeria and built regional corridors across Africa before scaling back in later years.
Kobo360 product logic
Leadership
| Role | Name | Background |
|---|---|---|
| Co founders | Obi Ozor, Ife Oyedele II | Built Kobo360 after seeing long haul delays and fragmented trucking in Nigeria |
| Current lead (2025) | Obi Ozor | Returned to steer a restart after investor exit and buyback |
How the Model Works
Kobo360 runs a digital marketplace for freight, then layers services that reduce risk for both sides. Shippers book on the platform. Truck owners accept jobs through the app. Kobo tracks trips and manages settlement.
What Kobo360 Controls
Growth and Results
Kobo360 grew quickly after launch by signing enterprise shippers and recruiting trucking capacity. By the early 2020s, it had thousands of trucks in its Nigerian network and hundreds of corporate customers.
Reality Check
- Working capital pressure. Drivers were paid faster than shippers paid Kobo, creating cash strain.
- Major downsizing. By 2024 the company had laid off most staff and reduced operations to a minimal level.
- Restart plan. In March 2025, founder Obi Ozor bought back the company, assumed about ₦10B debt, and started a Q2 2025 revival plan for core lanes.
Where They Work
Nigeria remains the anchor market. Before the downturn, Kobo360 reported expansion into selected West and East African trade corridors. The footprint below reflects historical reporting up to 2022 rather than confirmed current operations.
| Country | Status (historical) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | Core market | Main shipper base and truck density |
| Ghana | Expansion corridor | Regional freight routes |
| Togo | Expansion corridor | Cross border loads |
| Côte d’Ivoire | Expansion corridor | Port and industrial routes |
| Kenya | Expansion corridor | East Africa long haul demand |
| Uganda | Expansion corridor | East Africa corridor |
Funding History
Kobo360 raised a mix of equity and debt to scale capacity and finance operations. The largest rounds came between 2018 and 2021, before the company faced a downturn.
Main Supporters
Competitive Landscape
Freight in Africa is still dominated by informal brokers and fragmented fleets. Kobo360 competed by building a trusted carrier network and digitizing dispatch.
| Company | Model | Markets | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kobo360 | Digital freight marketplace | Multi country | Enterprise long haul focus |
| Lori Systems | Asset light trucking network | East and West Africa | Stronger East Africa corridors |
| Sendy (freight) | SME logistics plus freight | Kenya and region | More SME and last mile oriented |
| Traditional brokers | Offline matching | Everywhere | Still default in many lanes |
Key Lessons for Founders
What can builders learn from Kobo360?
- Start with a clear wedge. Kobo360 began with truck matching, then expanded into enterprise logistics.
- Working capital can break marketplaces. Payment timing matters as much as product fit.
- Trust is the real asset. Vetting carriers and proving delivery are essential in freight.
- Scale lanes before regions. Dense, repeat routes are cheaper to serve than scattered expansion.
- Data is a long term moat. Visibility and performance history build stickiness with shippers.
• Network metrics (trucks, shippers, active drivers): IFC disclosure.
• Launch year and YC batch: BusinessDay and YC S18 records.
• Funding rounds: Seed 2018 ($6M), Series A 2019 ($30M including working capital), 2021 mixed equity and debt round ($48M).
• Restructuring status: March 2025 investor exit, ₦10B debt assumption, and restart plan coverage.
Data checked November 24, 2025.