General News
Leveraging Technology in the Logistic Industry
The Logistic industry is a multi-million Naira industry, but it is faced with a number of challenges. A number of Startups are trying to use technology to bring greater efficiency to the sector. One of such Startups is Kobo360.com, a Logistic platform, leveraging technology in the Logistic industry.
I recently had a chat with Obi Ozor, Co-Founder, Kobo360.com and he spoke at length on the problems and prospects of the Logistic industry.
Obi stated that the Logistic industry, from the African market perspectives, is worth about $300 billion.
He further emphasised that the industry has different branches, such as the e-courier, trucking and air and sea freight, but in Nigeria, we are more into the e-courier and trucking branches of the Logistic industry. “The trucking branch of the industry is about $80 billion across Africa, while in Nigeria, it is about $18 billion. The e-courier projection is about $2 billion”, he maintained.
Obi is of the opinion that, although, the reward derived from the Logistic industry is huge, so are the challenges therein, because, it is a tough line of business to venture into.
He said that he decided to venture into the Logistic business because, it is the heartbeat of any economy. He alluded to the importance of transporting the products from one point to the other, citing the example of the fact that the building of the railways in the USA, aided, in no small measure, the movement of goods during the industrial revolution.
He maintained that the Logistic is the foundation of economic development. “We know, of course that, if e-commerce and the new technology industry will flourish n our continent, we actually need to solve that underlying factor”, he stated.
Obi stated that his plans to use technology to in order to bring about change in the Logistic industry will come in phases.
“Of course, a Startup has limited capabilities. You don’t have some of the financing or experience, but from the little experience that we have, and our being open to learning, we know that there are few things that technology can do”, he reiterated.
He gave the example of how technology can bring about transparency in pricing in the e-courier sector of the Logistic industry. He also stated that, technology can assist in aggregating all the trucks available in the country in one place, for the people who need the services t access them easily.
Obi stated that those in e-commerce can, actually, not solve their Logistics problems alone, even though, just because they are investing in it as it is a wrong move on their part. “Logistic is big business that has serious challenges and one of the problems in Logistics is that, it requires serious execution and operations.
It is not an industry where you just an idea and you come in and things will start working”, he noted. He stated further, that, the Logistic industry should be left to solve the Logistic problems while the e-commerce operators need to trust them to solve it.
On cash or pay on delivery, Obi stated that this originated from India and we have copied it here in Nigeria, but we need to modify it to what works for us, such as looking for a safe place to make the exchanges of the deliveries and cash payments as the lives of dispatch riders are jeopardised on daily basis. He also stated that, many for the e-commerce companies do not have infrastructure in every part of the country, so, there is the need to work with government on this.
Talking about competition, Obi stated that the Startups , like his own, hope to hope to apply innovation to the business, to enable him to compete favourably with the big names in the industry.
He reiterated that that, one thing that his company has has, is the ability to listen and understand the problems and solving them, in conjunction with the stakeholders, of which the customers are a part.
He emphasised that, Logistic is too complex an industry for a single person or company to solve alone. He maintained that there is the issue of capacity, when it comes to Logistics, hence, all stakeholders must come together to solve those issues.
Speaking on how he intends to deal with user education in the Logistic industry, Obi stated that, although, it is a big problem, two-day a week sessions are, however, organised for drivers, free of charge, where they are taught and tested on basic understanding on how to operate all those expensive assets and customer service.
He stated that the easy design of the platform, with mostly clicks , with less texts to make it easy for the users to apply and operate and there is also theR & D, which is set to develop a voice only app, to make the users more comfortable, by bringing everything down to their level.
Chinonso Akujobi, former staff of Access Bank in Lagos, has been remanded in Ikoyi prison after she was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N294.5m.
Akujobi who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was arraigned before Justice I.O. Ijelu of the State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
EFCC alleged that Akujobi stole the money between January and December 2025 while under the employment of Access Bank Plc.
As stated in one the charges, the defendant stole the money through unauthorized payments from the general ledger of Access Bank to her account number 0036668871 with the name Chinonso A., Uchechi A. and Florence A., thereby committing an offence of stealing, contrary to Section 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendant pleaded “not guilty“ to the charges when they were read to her.
In view of this, S.M.Yabo, prosecution counsel, asked the court for a trial date and also prayed for the remand of the defendant in a Correctional centre.
Justice Ijelu, thereafter, adjourned the case till October 8, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application and the commencement of trial.
The Judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Ikoyi correctional Centre.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says the flight captain of the VMO Aero aircraft that landed on a roadway near Asaba Airport in Delta State told investigators that the observer pilot mistakenly identified the paved road as the runway before touchdown.
The bureau disclosed this in a preliminary report released on Thursday on the June 10 incident, which prompted the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ground the private jet.
The aircraft had seven people on board, including the pilot-in-command (PIC), second-in-command (SIC), an observer pilot, a cabin crew member and three passengers.
According to the report, the aircraft was cleared by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to approach Runway 11 at Asaba Airport after the crew requested a right orbit.
The crew initially discontinued the approach, executed a missed approach and repositioned for a second landing attempt.
NSIB said the crew reported that the aircraft’s navigation systems indicated it was correctly established on the published RNAV Runway 11 approach.
“The PIC and SIC reported that the observer pilot identified the paved surface ahead as the runway,” the report stated.
However, the observer pilot gave investigators a different version of events.
According to NSIB, he said the aircraft remained inside cloud until late in the approach and that the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) repeatedly issued “TERRAIN, TERRAIN, PULL UP” alerts.
He also said he observed a telecommunications mast directly ahead and instructed the flight captain to abandon the approach and climb immediately.
The bureau further disclosed that a cabin crew member reported that one of the passengers became concerned after overhearing discussions among the pilots and asked whether one of them was undergoing training. The passenger was reportedly reassured that all three pilots on board were experienced captains.
NSIB said no abnormal events were reported in the cabin before touchdown.
The aircraft eventually landed at about 8:57 a.m. on an under-construction paved roadway near Asaba Airport instead of the designated runway.
The bureau said its investigation into the incident is ongoing, while the preliminary report highlights conflicting accounts among the cockpit crew over the circumstances that led to the erroneous landing.
European Union has warned Meta Platforms Inc. that it could face a significant financial penalty unless it changes what regulators describe as the “addictive design” features of Facebook and Instagram.
The European Commission issued the warning in preliminary findings released on Friday, saying Meta had failed to sufficiently address risks posed by its platforms, particularly to children and vulnerable users.
The Commission said features such as infinite scrolling, personalised content recommendations and automatic video playback were designed in ways that encouraged excessive engagement with the platforms.
EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said protecting the physical and mental well-being of European citizens should be a priority for social media companies.
The Commission said Meta should consider introducing design changes, including disabling autoplay and infinite scrolling by default, providing effective screen-time reminders and adjusting recommendation systems to reduce the focus on maximising user engagement.
The findings were issued under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which sets obligations for major online platforms to address risks associated with their services.
Meta, however, rejected the Commission’s conclusions, saying it disagreed with the findings but would continue engaging with European regulators.
The company said it had already implemented measures aimed at protecting younger users, including Teen Accounts that allow parents to manage screen time limits and restrict access during night hours.
The EU said its investigation, which began in 2024, found that existing time-management tools on Facebook and Instagram could easily be bypassed, while parental controls required technical knowledge that limited their effectiveness.
Regulators also expressed concerns over children’s nighttime use of the platforms and the possibility that features such as Reels and Stories could encourage compulsive behaviour.
If the Commission’s preliminary findings are confirmed, Meta could face a fine of up to six per cent of its annual global revenue under the DSA.
The warning comes as the EU steps up efforts to strengthen online safety measures for children, with an expert panel established by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expected to present recommendations on protecting minors online.
Several EU member states, including France, have also supported discussions on restricting social media access for children, following Australia’s decision to ban users under 16 from accessing social media platforms.
Meanwhile, the Commission is continuing a separate investigation into whether Meta’s recommendation algorithms create “rabbit hole” effects by directing users towards increasingly extreme content.
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