In a significant move to boost entrepreneurship and digital innovation in Edo State, the state government teamed up with Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to unveil a list of 50 startups for the Inclusion Focus Support Programme and the Innovation Challenge Programme. This initiative is made possible with the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, highlighting a shared commitment to fostering sustainable development through technology.

CcHUB is a prominent innovation hub in Africa dedicated to fostering the development of technology startups. Located in Nigeria, CcHUB provides incubation, acceleration, and investment opportunities across various sectors, including fintech, healthcare, education, and energy.

At the heart of this initiative is the DigiLink program, designed to empower local entrepreneurs by providing them with the necessary resources to develop innovative solutions that tackle pressing societal challenges. The program focuses on key sectors such as health, education, and economic empowerment, aiming to create impactful change in the community.

Celebrating Our Achievement: Kwikpik is a Grantee

Image of Edo State Startup Innovation Challenge Programme Grantee

We are beyond excited to share the amazing news with you all—Kwikpik has been selected as one of the 50 startup grantees in the recent initiative by the Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) and the Edo State Government, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation! This recognition is not just a milestone for us but also a significant step towards realizing our vision of transforming how people access and utilize digital solutions.

What This Award Means for Us

Being chosen as a grantee under the DigiLink program is a tremendous honor. This initiative fosters innovation and creates economic opportunities, particularly for marginalized communities. Here at Kwikpik, we are a Web3 on-demand delivery marketplace application that helps retail consumers and vendors in underserved regions of Africa and the Middle East overcome common delivery challenges by leveraging the Hedera DLT to ensure a distributed peer-2-peer delivery network that enforces faster, trackable, affordable and efficient delivery service for customers, this support will empower us to enhance our services and reach more users.

What We Plan to Do with the Grant:

As an organization focused on growth and contributing to economic development in underserved regions of Africa and the Middle East to overcome common delivery challenges, we aim to improve our:

Branding: This funding will enable us to develop a strong, cohesive brand identity that resonates with our target audience and effectively communicates our unique value proposition. By leveraging this grant, we aim to create impactful branding assets such as a memorable logo, engaging website, and consistent visual identity. Our goal is to build brand recognition, foster trust, and ultimately drive growth for our business through strategic branding initiatives.
Product Innovation: As we all know, the world is growing rapidly and the industry is becoming competitive, and to win in this fierce competition, we need to evolve by creating better services and products that make us stand out from the competition. This funding will enable us to research, develop, and test new product ideas that address unmet needs in the market and align with our strategic vision. By leveraging this grant, we aim to create a robust pipeline of innovative products that will set us apart from competitors and drive growth for our business. Our goal is to foster a culture of innovation, collaborate with industry experts, and invest in cutting-edge technologies to bring transformative products to market.
Marketing: Sales and marketing are the lifeblood of any business. Without marketing, there are no sales, and without sales, there’s no business. This funding will enable us to implement targeted advertising campaigns, optimize our online presence through SEO and website development, and engage in market research to better understand our customers’ needs. By leveraging this grant, we aim to expand our reach, attract new partners and customers, and drive sustainable growth for our business.

The Impact of the Grant

With this grant, our focus is to make Kwikpik better for our customers and also partners, and by that, 65% of the grant will be going into:

Product Efficiency: This grant will impact us by allowing us to serve our users better by optimizing order management, route planning, and payment options, ensuring faster and more reliable delivery services in 2024 and beyond
User Acquisition: It will help onboard more merchants/vendors into our merchant app in Edo state, and also include partner and sponsor events. We plan to onboard at least 60% of the guests into Kwikpik users, merchants, riders, and business applications.
Create Jobs and Opportunities: As we grow, we aim to create more job opportunities within our community, contributing to economic development.

Gratitude to Our Supporters

We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported Kwikpik on this journey. From our dedicated team to our mentors and partners, your belief in our mission has been invaluable. A special thank you to CcHUB and the Edo State Government for this incredible opportunity, and to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their commitment to fostering innovation and inclusion.

Looking Ahead

As we embark on this exciting journey, we invite you all to follow our progress. We’ll be sharing updates on our developments and successes as we work to make a positive impact in our community. Your support means the world to us, and together, we can drive meaningful change. Thank you for being part of our story!

Let the Winning Team Help Boost Your Business

Kwikpik is a leading Delivery-as-a-Service (DaaS) provider in Nigeria, offering end-to-end logistics solutions for businesses and individuals. With our user-friendly app, you can easily manage deliveries and track your packages in real time.

Some key features of Kwikpik include:

Same-day and next-day delivery options.
Affordable pricing without hidden costs.
Delivery to remote areas across Nigeria.
Insurance and packaging services to secure your deliveries.

To learn more about how Kwikpik can help you with your online deliveries, visit our website.

Download our app| Become a rider| Become a business partner| Visit our social channels

Gabriel Ojeh

Kwikpik Selected for the Edo State Startup Innovation Challenge Programme