Former CEO of Jobberman, Ayodeji Adewunmi has joined Gokada as a co-founder as the Lagos-based on-demand motorcycle taxi app secured $5.3 million in a Series A funding.
The fund led by Rise Capital with participation from Adventure Capital, First MidWest Group, IC Global Partners and several local investors, Gokada says it will expand its driver fleet, increase daily rides by 10 fold and acquire local tech talent.
In a statement made available to Business Insider SSA by Pulse, Gokada said it will also explore new verticals for business growth without stating more details.
According to the company, the funding round saw the ousting of Deji Odutan as CEO but reports claim his exit was as a result of alleged mismanagement. In another note, Oduntan also ascribed the success of the Series A funding to his office as CEO.
Fahim Saleh, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Gokada says, “Our green Gokada motorcycles have become a regular feature of Lagos’ roads in the 14 months since our official launch. Gokada was built with the intention of becoming the future of two-wheel transport in West Africa, and we are fast becoming the go-to platform to hail a motorcycle ride in Lagos. Today’s announcement allows us to accelerate our growth projections significantly, as we continue to grow our market share and look to introduce more product features and services."
Nazar Yasin, Founder and Managing Partner at Rise Capital believes Gokada is reshaping the tech-enabled transport market in Lagos, and “we are excited to be partnering with them as they scale.”
Ayodeji Adewumni adds, “It is an incredible time to be joining Gokada on this journey to transform transportation in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. I am truly excited about the promise of Gokada becoming the operating system of how cities function optimally and efficiently across Africa. There is no doubt in my mind that this will become one of the most important companies in Africa.”
Last month, Ayodeji Adewunmi left Jobberman after a decade in the online recruitment space in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
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