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Ride-hailer Little sees delivery business surge on demand
Craft Silicon founder Kamal Budhabhatti in a panel discussion during the launch of the Africa Fintech Festival at Sankara Hotel, Nairobi on February 29, 2024.
Kenyan ride-hailing platform Little says deliveries are emerging as its second-largest business line as the firm expands beyond its traditional taxi services.
The company says that since entering the logistics market in 2022, demand for boda boda and large-scale cargo transport has risen across its markets, driven in part by gaps left by the collapse of competitors.
Logistics now accounts for an estimated 30 percent of Little’s overall business, second to ride-hailing, which still contributes about 60 percent, Kamal Budhabhatti, the CEO of Little’s parent firm Craft Silicon, told the Business Daily in an interview.
Other services such as food delivery, groceries, and event ticket sales make up the remaining share, Mr Budhabhatti said.
“The logistics business is picking up very well. This includes deliveries from two-wheelers like boda-bodas, three-wheelers, all the way up to 40-wheeler large trucks and containers,” he said.
Little operates delivery services, including warehousing and express road freight, in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.
The firm identifies Kenya as its largest market, followed by Ethiopia. The growth comes amid a shake-up in the logistics startups sector, including the collapse of rivals such as the logistics company Sendy, which Mr Budhabhatti says created room for expansion by remaining operators.
Sendy collapsed in August 2023 after running out of funds and failing to secure new investment. Since 2015, the firm has operated an app linking delivery drivers who own their vehicles with customers.
“There are players who closed down, which also helped us a lot. When they closed down, our logistics business picked up very well,” he said.
Little has partnerships with major retail chains and distributors, including Carrefour, Naivas, Quick Mart, L’Oréal, and the vehicle dealer CFAO to support their logistics operations.
Little has diversified beyond corporate ride-hailing, which the company is most known for, and now operates food and grocery delivery, event bookings, payments, and even movie ticket purchases from local cinemas.
Digital platforms in East Africa have been diversifying revenue streams and tapping into the growing demand for on-demand delivery services in the consumer and enterprise segments.
Uber, Bolt, and SafeBoda, originally ride-hailing apps, have expanded into parcel delivery, online shopping, and food and grocery delivery.
At the same time, many Kenyan retailers and chain stores have invested heavily in mobile apps to meet the growing demand for online shopping post the Covid-19 pandemic.
A recent survey by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) indicates that mobile applications are now the primary drivers of e-commerce in Kenya, surpassing traditional websites as the preferred channels for placing and receiving online orders.
Apps account for 44.8 percent of all order placements and receipts in the year to June 2025, compared to traditional website portals, which account for just 12 percent of orders.
