This is coming a few weeks after the firm revealed it raised about $5.3 million from investors, the startup has declared its plan to introduce boat services. The new service which was announced via its Twitter page, aims to help commuters beat traffic in Lagos by utilizing the waterways.
According to the social media post, the service is expected to be launched this year which is sooner than the 2020 it was originally scheduled for. However, no timeline was provided for its launch.
This new development is coming barely a month after the startup’s leadership changed hands and secured a new $5.3 million in funding from Rise Capital. The move is barely a surprise though as the 2-year-old startup has always clarified that its future projection is beyond motorcycle.
Coming to you sooner than you know! Beating the traffic and doing more with time spent in gridlocks just got more interesting. GBoat is here! Watch this space for more details on how to use this service #GBoat #Gokada pic.twitter.com/K7cKVhCQGP— Gokada (@GokadaNG) June 10, 2019
It had always said its service would eventually involve other means of transportation – which includes bus, ferry boat, and airline.
Boat and ferry services are not new in Lagos State. But the market has not shown much promise in the area of innovation and topnotch services. Issues of safety have also plagued many operators as cases of boat mishaps claiming lives are occasionally recorded.
Market watchers and analysts believe that if any disruption is going to take place in that market, potential players must be ready to innovate and reposition by addressing safety, cost and quality issues among others.
One of the potential competitors to GBoat is ORide, a motorcycle-hailing service in the OPay mobile payment app. With a $100 million released to its African operations, there are hints the company has plans to foray into logistics and other related services.
If the above market prediction is anything to go by, GBoat and maybe, ‘OBoat’ would be contending with Lagos State and a few other players.
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