#OkadaBan: Gokada Ventures Into Deliveries, Boat Services

On Feb 1st 2020, the Lagos State hammer fell on some transportation sector, the policy by the government sees that Okadas and Keke Napep are banned in 16 local governments across the state has affected everyone even though in the hailing industry and these include Gokada, Max and Oride. While Max is not affected 100% as it falls back on its deliveries sector others are not as lucky as they have to go out of business.

The recent ban of commercial motorcycles and tricycles in most parts of Lagos, Nigeria has seen Gokada, one of the major players in the motorcycle on-demand space lay-off most of its staff and plot a pivot.

The startup recently laid off a large part of its staff, and CEO, Fahim Saleh says it was necessitated by the recent ban, and a need to pivot.

• Related News: Gokada Suspends Services To Address Poor Services, Retrain Drivers And Improve Customers’ Satisfaction

“We are pivoting to deliveries while transport gets figured out,” Saleh said in a telephone conversation.

He also hinted at a Gokada boat service that will launch anytime in February, or “real soon”.

“One 24-passenger boat just came in, and another is sitting at the port waiting to be cleared from customs,” Saleh said.

On the lay-offs, Saleh said they were necessitated by a need to proactively adjust to circumstances and cut down burn rate. He also claims not to be sure how many people were affected by the sack.

Founded in 2017, Gokada was the second motorcycle hailing company to enter the Nigerian mobility space; after MAX.ng which launched in 2015.

• READ: GOkada and Lagos Boats Team Up To Unveil GBoat To The Public