Mobile operator Airtel Nigeria has partnered Yuzah, one of the winner’s of its recent Catapult-a-Startup competition, to launch an app aimed at improving the delivery of diesel in Nigeria.
Disrupt Africa reported in February Airtel had announced the winners of its first Catapult-a-Startup competition, awarding to NGN1 million (US$5,000) in prize money to Yuzah, gaming startups Chopup and SonBim Games, online recruitment tool PushCV, online dating platform MatchUp, retail management tool BluBird, and e-learning tool Pass.ng.
The operator has now gone a step further by partnering Yuzah to roll out its app on its network. The app allows users to request instant delivery of diesel to their homes or offices via their mobile phones, with Airtel Nigeria chief commercial officer (CCO) Maurice Newa describing it as a first in the country.
“Airtel has collaborated with Yuzah, one of the winners of Airtel Catapult-a-Startup competition, to offer Nigerians this unique service which will further enhance their access to diesel and address the inconveniences associated with the logistics involved in delivery,” he said.
Users download the app, after which it detects location and shows all diesel trucks within a certain radius. Diesel can then be ordered through the app, with the product delivered within 60 minutes once accepted by a Yuzah-approved supplier.
The service is currently being rolled out in pilot areas in Lagos, with plans to expand to other parts of the country before the end of the year.
Newa said the partnership lent further credence to the Catapult-a-Startup initiative, which he said is driven by its vision of encouraging innovation and empowering young Nigerians by creating opportunities for them to bring their business ideas to fruition.
“As an organisation, we are passionate about building a community for young talented Nigerians,” he said.
“We are aware of the abundance of young people who are blessed with the skills to develop relevant apps with most of them not having the opportunity to showcase or develop their skills. Through the Catapult-a-Startup programme, we aim not only to identify talent, but also to encourage local content.”
Yuzah chief executive officer (CEO) Ovo Emorhokpor said the service will offer Nigeria maximum convenience in purchasing diesel.
“We are extremely happy and excited about this partnership with Airtel. Yuzah was birthed out of necessity to create a seamless process to purchase diesel and from the initial customer response, we strongly believe the service will be extremely useful to the larger population who use the product,” he said.
Emorhokpor said Yuzah guarantees quality as it performs tank assessment and quality checks on its diesel in front of customers before delivery.
