Smart addressing startup OkHi is partnering with Interswitch, one of Africa’s largest financial technology & digital commerce companies, to launch in Nigeria. Together, the businesses are aiming to solve a painful problem for millions of Nigerians – the lack of addressing systems.
OkHi founder Timbo Drayson says the lack of addressing infrastructure negatively affects the entire economy. “Accurate addresses are vital for delivery and financial services, and the problem costs Nigeria an estimated $2billion a year in inefficiency.
Delivery businesses often get lost and call their customers on average over three times to find their door. At the same time, banks have to send an agent, in-person, to verify a prospective customer addresses – a slow and expensive process.”
OkHi’s solution is a smart address – a GPS pin linked to a person’s name and phone number. Their approach is to enable any business to collect an accurate address, deliver to it without getting lost and continuously verify it.
Initially launched in Kenya, OkHi is aiming to recreate its East African success in Nigeria. In Kenya, the company has powered 475,000 address verifications, reduced the average cost of delivery by 20% and reduced delivery times by 40%.
OkHi hopes to roll out its smart addressing system across the country and ensure all 195 million Nigerians have access to an address.
Already, OkHi has secured some of Nigeria’s leading startups as customers including Kuda Bank, Okra and Zedvance. Having recently raised $1.5 million investment from Interswitch, Founders Factory Africa and Asian venture capital firm Betatron, the company is also building its local team and is seeking Nigerian staff to boost its sales and growth.