Creek dwellers and many others in rural Rivers State who used to have access to purchases only when the barge or trading boat arrived from Port Harcourt can now heave a sigh of relief as e-commerce has opened daily supplies.
This is being driven by a partnership between Jumia and a local delivery firm, Ex & Ex Logistics Limited, to deliver supplies to the creeks and rural areas on a daily basis.
Some of the riverine areas that Jumia gets to on a daily basis include Okrika, Bukuma, Ahoada, Etche, and many more. The online company gets orders from these areas and uses a special partner to deliver.
Odubu Bekinbo, CEO of Ex & Ex Logistics Limited, told BusinessDay in an exclusive interview in Port Harcourt that Jumia entrusts the firm with delivery in rural and remote areas of Rivers State to expand e-commerce.
Bekinbo said Ex & Ex supports Jumia in delivering packages to rural areas in Rivers State, making sure that customers have access to e-commerce day-to-day instead of the usual once-in-a-while situation. She said the partnership has lasted for four years so far.
“Typically, the rural areas do not have sufficient access to everyday goods all the time, probably once in a week or two weeks, but with us right here in Rivers State, for the fact that we represent Jumia in this axis, we are able to deliver whatever they order for. They can get it day-to-day and on time,” Bekinbo said.
“Jumia as a whole practically covers both the city and the rural areas. The city here will be a first major focus but to be able to meet all and sundry; we go extra miles in going to those rural areas, those remote places that naturally people will not want to go to.”
The CEO said the experience is limitless but has seen high and low moments, and even moments of tears.
“It has been both challenging and at the same time we have had our laughter and our cries in the sense that when we first started, going to those rural areas was very difficult due to the difficulty getting to those routes in places. Over time, as we kept on, the roads are being worked on and a little bit of access is being given and it is easy for us to move down there and deliver what we have to deliver,” she said.
There were issues around lack of appropriate knowledge on the part of the rural dwellers, but Bekinbo said this prompted the firm to educate them on how to shop online, especially on Jumia.
“We have people that go to these places to make sure that packages that have been ordered by customers are given to them on a timely basis,” she said, adding that the initiative has impacted her enterprise positively.
Ex & Ex, which started with the CEO and one person, now has 12 delivery agents. The delivery business is one of the new areas of enterprise that were boosted by Covid-19.
“At the beginning of Covid, there was a slump because we needed to downsize staff. Later on, there was a little pick-up, a gradual rise,” she said.
Bad roads apart, the delivery business faces security challenges in the rural routes, but Bekinbo said the delivery agents have been trained to use their devices in times of emergency. They have also been trained on what to do as individuals.
The firm also said it uses training, discipline and firm approaches to tame the delivery agents and get them to act professionally at al times, thus bringing integrity to the delivery business at the rural level.
“I will not doubt the fact that one or two might be a bad egg but generally speaking, our DAs maintain the etiquettes and the right attitude required of them. We have training and regular checks with full reports to show the DAs who are faulty,” she said.
The partnership does not debar the firm from rendering such services to other online companies but the managers said they do not intend to look elsewhere. For Bekinbo, her dream is rather to deliver anywhere, including the moon, if possible.
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