Bolt has launched a courier service which will allow businesses to deliver goods to their customers. The service costs will be based on Bolt’s budget service which charges Ksh25 per kilometer and Ksh4 per minute.
The taxi hailing app formerly known as Taxify yesterday launched the new Bolt Business Delivery Service in Africa including Kenya and Europe to increase their service offering.
The new services will work by connecting businesses to drivers listed on the platform. Businesses can have one car doing multiple deliveries to different customers.
Bolt has stepped up its services in a bid to challenge Uber’s dominance and is hoping that the new service will add to their market share.
The tech and transport company is currently operational in 5 African countries; Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, South African and Nigeria.
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“We launched Bolt Business Delivery to leverage our experience in operations and logistics and make use of our technology and the large network of drivers we have across Kenya during a time when a lot of people are forced to stay at home.” Said Ola Akinnusi, Bolt Country Manager, Kenya.
The vendors will be able to track the deliveries in real time and customers will receive a notification with the details of the sender as well as the estimated time of delivery.
Since launching in 2013, the company has been able to raise up to $200 million (Ksh20 billion) from investors. Analysts expect Bolt to tap into the untapped markets especially in the developing countries as they also seek to get a share in countries dominated by their rivals.
“The service can be used by all kinds of businesses, to facilitate all kinds of deliveries, ranging from delivery of essentials like groceries to household items, LPG, pharmaceutical products- any business that needs a delivery service that can cover the last mile, manage item returns and handle multiple drop offs,” Ola added.
A year ago, Bolt launched a taxi app service for corporates, enabling companies to pay for their employees rides. The new courier service adds on to Bolt’s diversification to grow their revenue streams against strong competition in the sector.
Bolt also introduced food delivery services in Europe and has divulged plans to do the same locally in the near future. Currently, its products also include boda boda and tuktuk hailing services and there are plans to eventually penetrate.
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