Kikelomo Fola-Ogunniya's entrepreneurial journey proves that sometimes the most successful businesses begin by solving your own problems. What started as a simple solution to cross-border shopping frustrations has evolved into Cargo Plug, a tech-enabled logistics company transforming how African businesses connect to global markets.
When Kike and her co-founder Ama couldn't find reliable ways to ship purchases from the UK to Nigeria, they created their own solution. Operating from the trunks of their cars during lunch breaks from their oil industry jobs, they bootstrapped a side hustle that would eventually become a full-fledged international logistics company. Their company, initially called Jand to Gidi, has since evolved into CargoPlug, offering comprehensive shipping solutions from virtually any country to Nigeria and vice versa.
What makes their story remarkable isn't just business growth, but the sustainability of their partnership. In an ecosystem where co-founder relationships often fracture under pressure, Kike and Ama have maintained a thriving partnership for 13 years. Their secret? Clear role definition based on natural strengths, transparent communication, and unwavering trust.
The Cargo Plug journey offers practical wisdom for entrepreneurs everywhere. They diligently tracked financials from day one, which positioned them perfectly when seeking funding opportunities. They've weathered economic fluctuations, a global pandemic, and technological shifts while continuously evolving their services. Most impressively, they've built proprietary technology in-house, including user dashboards and shipping APIs that integrate with global platforms.
Through their 'RICE' core values – Reliable, Intelligent, Customer-focused, and Exciting – they've created a company culture that keeps team members engaged for years, some approaching a decade with the company. Their story stands as powerful evidence that African entrepreneurs can build sustainable, tech-enabled businesses that solve real problems while creating meaningful economic opportunity.
ABS WEBSITE: www.africanbusinessstories.com
ABS INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/afribizstories/
LISTEN/FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcast | Spotify |Youtube
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
With more female entrepreneurs than any other
region in the world.
Women are at the heart ofAfrica's transformation.
Welcome to African BusinessStories, the show that amplifies
the voices of femaleentrepreneurs shaping Africa's
business landscape.
I'm your host, ekego Koye.
Here we explore bold ideas,strategies for scaling and the
(00:25):
realities of building businessesthat drive economic development
.
These stories will provideinsights into Africa's business
landscape, practical tools forgrowth and the inspiration to
navigate your ownentrepreneurial journey.
Be sure to subscribe, rate andshare.
Neural journey.
(00:51):
Be sure to subscribe, rate andshare On the show.
Today I chat with Kike LamontFola, ogunian, co-founder of
Cargo Plug, a tech-enabledlogistics company that's
redefining cross-border shippingfor African businesses.
What began as a side hustlecalled Jan to Giddy has grown
into a full-fledged businesswith global reach, proprietary
technology and recognition fromCNN.
(01:11):
We talk about Kike's journeyfrom law to logistics,
bootstrapping throughuncertainty, building with a
co-founder and transforming apersonal pain point into a
thriving venture.
It's a conversation aboutvision, resilience and building
with intention.
Let's get into it, hi, kike.
Welcome to African BusinessStories, hi.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Ego.
Thank you so much for having me.
Glad to be here to share mystory.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Awesome.
It's so good to be able to sitdown with you and talk about
your business and your journey.
I feel like I've been followingyour story for what may be 10,
11 years now I don't even knowhow long but it's amazing to
have watched your business growand I'm grateful for the
opportunity to be able to shareyour story with the world.
(02:00):
I think you and Amma have doneincredible and yeah so I can't
wait to get into it, but Ialways start from the very
beginning.
So if you and Amar have doneincredible, and yeah so I can't
wait to get into it, but Ialways start from the very
beginning.
So if you can just share alittle bit about where you grew
up, some fond memories from when, from way back in the day, I'm
assuming that you were born inLagos, but you know you can
correct me if I'm wrong, butwhere were you?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
born.
Okay, thank you, ego.
Yeah, I was actually born inthe UK.
Oh, there you go, yeah, but Ididn't grow up there from the uk
, came to lagos as a baby.
I've lived most of my life here, so primary school, secondary
school, and then went to the ukback to the uk for school, for
university, for a leveluniversity and my master's.
Then came back to nigeria to dolaw school, which is where we
(02:40):
met and, yeah, here we areseveral years later and sharing
our stories.
Yeah, fond memories.
I was the only girl out of fourchildren, I think that kind of
shaped and I was the first childof my mom and that kind of
shaped me into, I think, leadingthe path.
And then, as far as childhoodmemories go, I think I just
(03:02):
remember having, I think, mrBiggs.
It's funny, mr Biggs was one ofthe major highlights or
something that we always report,so my dad would always take us
there at the weekends and thatwas just something that I felt
like I should form.
Another tradition, like similartradition with my own daughter.
Now I just remember many happymoments like us playing, just
playing with reckless abandon,and I got that from my mom.
(03:24):
She's very playful, but, ofcourse, when it comes to
discipline, there's time foreverything and my dad is the
ultimate disciplinarian.
He was in the military, so youcan imagine we definitely needed
that balance that my mom,brought.
those are the kind of fondmemories I have from growing up
with my brothers and just beinga girly girl, but being a tomboy
at the same time, and then justcoming into my own now as a
(03:45):
girly girl.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
I remember the donut from Mr Biggs.
I still think that's the bestdonut.
I think it's still in here tilltoday.
I cannot wait to try it again,because I've tried so many
donuts.
Nothing is as good as Mr Biggsdonut.
Yeah, yeah, I totally agree.
So what inspired you to studylaw?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
my half sister was a law, is a lawyer, okay, and that
kind of was my firstintroduction to law, I know.
Growing up there was a pictureof her in her wig and gown and I
just thought, oh gosh, shelooks so beautiful.
And then I think maybe mypersonality just led me to law.
I honestly don't remember thepoint at which I said, okay,
it's law I'm going to study.
But I just know I've alwaysbeen a humanities student.
(04:27):
I'm from secondary school, Iwas good in government subjects
like that, english, etc.
So I think naturally after myin fact before my A-levels, I
already knew I wanted to do anA-levels that was law-based.
So of course, from there Iobviously went into undergrad
for law.
So I think it just happened,but I'm still glad it happened.
What did your career look?
Speaker 1 (04:48):
like after law school .
Speaker 2 (04:49):
So after law school, of course, so as we don't
disappoint our parents the firstthing was obviously to look for
a law firm.
But during my NYC I worked inan oil company.
I worked in the HR department,just happened.
I don't even know how I landedthere, but that's where I ended
up doing HR.
But of course I already knewthat after NYSE, if I wasn't
retained which wasn't likely Iwas going to go into a law firm.
(05:10):
So I started applying, went tothe best of the best law firms
for interviews etc.
And I finally started workingat ALEX, which is one of the top
law firms in Nigeria.
So I worked there as a lawyer,as an associate, for about two
years, and my practice area inparticular was IP, so
intellectual property.
I didn't really know much aboutit when I joined, but of course
(05:30):
, by the time I left ALEKS I wasa different kind of person.
I was a different kind oflawyer.
I learned so much under thetutelage of my partner at the
time.
Our partner, mr Emua, and therest of my colleagues ALEKS
shaped me as well Coming out ofschool.
(05:50):
I struggled at first, though,because I think I preferred
school law to actual practice,even though I didn't actually go
to court, the actual practiceof understanding how best to
respond to clients' emails, howto tackle, how to approach or
answer clients' questions, etcetera.
Those made the formative yearsof my legal career and I thought
I was going to really excel inthe legal space.
But of course I did for thetime that.
I was there for two years andthen moved on to something else
(06:14):
For me.
Honestly, by the second year Ithink I was already I realized
that I really didn't really likelaw in practice, and so when
the opportunity came to go intooil service, back into the oil
industry, I jumped at theopportunity.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
You finished at ALEX.
You joined this oil servicecompany and just from
researching I know that the ideafor a business came while you
were there.
So just talk us through whatled you to conceive this idea of
starting Jan to Gidi, as yourbusiness was called then.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, when we joined, when I joined the oil service
company, I had my friendintroduced me to the company
actually Ama, who is now myco-founder and she had told me
that they were recruiting.
I'd already said to her that Iwas looking for a job.
I was looking for somethingelse and she said, oh, there's a
vacancy in her organization andI thought, okay, I would apply.
And I did and I got the job.
So that's when we got closer.
She was already working therein a different department, in
(07:08):
the engineering department, so Ijoined training services.
I was a project supportcoordinator.
I needed my legal skills aswell.
Of course.
I applied my legal skills inthat space, but just that it
wasn't at the forefront.
But yeah, when I joined, wewould always ask.
I know at this time Amma hadalso come back from uni in the
UK, same as myself, so wealready had started asking for
(07:30):
friends and traveling relativescoming back.
I know that when we were in lawschool I didn't have enough
time to even shop for law schoolblack and white outfits.
I didn't even have enough timebecause I was rounding up my
master's and rushing back toNigeria for my law school, so I
didn't have enough of the blackand white, and then you just
always asked if anybody wascoming back.
So the problem started therefrom when I first landed in
(07:50):
Nigeria.
Within a few weeks I realized,oh my goodness, I don't have
enough black and white outfits.
And we were stuck in Bwari,which is a village in Abuja.
I had no idea where to shop,even in Lagos.
Back then I didn't know whereto shop.
I didn't know where to buyanything.
So immediately the problemstarted where can I get goods
from?
And my only I, my only thoughtas an adult that had spent seven
(08:11):
years in the UK, was shop fromthe UK.
I already had the stores I wasaccustomed to that were my
favorites, and I just wanted tokeep the habits.
We'll start asking fortraveling friends and relatives.
And we realized in a shortperiod of time there was a
headache.
Finding someone who was willingto carry a package for you was
a problem.
Even finding a way to pay foryour goods was a problem.
So carry a package for you wasa problem.
(08:31):
Even finding a way to pay foryour goods was a problem.
So this was already a problembefore I even joined this
organization.
Now, when I joined, I foundsomeone else who had the same
problem that I had.
So we had a pain of shoppingand just wanting to wear
something for a wedding, a pairof shoes and back then there
were shippers, but then theywould charge maybe high minimum
wage, or there wasn't anytracking.
You couldn't see what washappening.
(08:51):
The person I found seemed likehe was doing me a favor.
The customer service was zeroand it was just like okay, I'll
pick up your goods or send yourgoods to me whenever I should
get it.
So Anna and I thought, no, thiscan't, there has to be a better
way of doing this.
So we ordered an item from acompany who delivered to Nigeria
at the time, and we walkedbackwards and found out that if
(09:12):
these people could do it,obviously we can do it for
ourselves and obviously startedbusiness from there.
We're like, okay, this wasexactly the statement that
started it.
It's been let's try and solvethis problem, and that was how
we started.
During our lunch break, westarted coming up with the idea
of starting something to solvethat UK to Nigeria problem, and
that was where the name Jand toGidi came up.
(09:33):
So of course, jand means UK andGidi means Nigeria, lagos, but
in our context, nigeria as awhole.
That's where Jand to Gidi cameup and of course at the time we
just thought UK to Nigeria solvethat problem and we had no
plans of doing anything outsideof the UK to Nigeria.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
So how was it starting up and working
full-time?
What did that look like for you?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
guys.
It looked like a headachetrying to balance everything and
for me, I had just gottenmarried, okay, so I was
balancing a new home, a newbusiness, a new partnership with
Ama and also, obviously, doingmy day job nine to five.
So how we looked was we createdan instagram page.
Thankfully, instagram was still.
We loved instagram back thenbecause everybody that followed
(10:17):
you could see your content.
Now algorithm has changedeverything, yeah, but anyways,
yeah, we started the instagrampage, put out contents just
saying contact us for yourdeliveries from the uk to
nigeria.
Now, because we knew we had aday job, we put that SMS only or
email only, but of course, oncethere's a show number, people
are going to call you and ofcourse, we had to be accountable
(10:40):
to our clients.
So we'll do what we can.
Maybe return calls at our lunchbreak, schedule meetings for
our lunch break.
We come to the office to havemeetings with our partners, but
we'll do that during our lunchbreak or after office hours.
Now, we started as a petproject, so Alma and I would
test with our own shipmentsshipments for family and friends
and then gradually, we startedgaining the confidence and
(11:01):
understanding the system, andthen that was when we started
launching the business onInstagram and so on.
Now, when the packages arrived,back then we would be upstairs,
but then we had our cars whereour offices at the time, so we
would deliver.
We would just open, press yourkey, open up your car from
upstairs.
The delivery company knows whatto do.
Our partners that brought thegoods in already know.
No way Drop the packages, comeupstairs with the proof of
(11:24):
delivery, we'll sign everythingand go back to work.
Wow, and then after work, wewould then find delivery
companies, and back then thiswas 2013 when we started.
In 2013, there weren't thatmany delivery companies as we
have now.
So sometimes Ama and I honestlywould just jump in the car and
go and do deliveries ourselves,especially if they were on the
island.
We had an official email,something jantagidi at gmailcom
(11:50):
and then, in a short while, ofcourse, we had info at
jantaginicomng made everythingofficial, had a website and
literally everybody who knew usknew that we had a new business
and that we're solving the UK toNigeria problem, and our job
was just to get the word out.
There we're shouting from therooftops everything that we did
and that was how we built ourfirst, I think, 1000 followers
on Instagram and continue tobuild till today.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
That's incredible.
So you co-founded this businesswith Ama, who is your friend.
I've interviewed so many women,so many business owners in the
past and we talk aboutco-founder success or co-founder
breakup, and you know what thatcan be like.
You guys have been together nowfor what?
Going on?
13 years.
Yeah, what's that journey beenlike?
Are there some lessons you'velearned from building with a
(12:35):
co-founder who also happens tobe your friend?
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Both We've learned so much from each other and I
think the key thing that I thinkstill holds us together till
date is trust and thatcommunication, trust,
communication and, I think,transparency.
So at the beginning, right fromthe start, we already knew as I
joined as a lawyer, she's anengineer we already knew we had
strength.
So, personally, assessyourselves.
(13:01):
What exactly are you bringingto the table?
Math, mathematics, in fact, Ican't stand numbers.
I don't know whether that's alaw thing or just I don't know
what it is, it probably is Kike,so of course we knew she would
be the numbers person.
So, tracking of customers' datawe had an Excel spreadsheet.
(13:21):
So if Ego was getting 10 kgfrom the UK, we would write it
there.
Ego coin 10 kg, we would writehow much it cost us.
So, there, kg, we will writehow much it cost us.
So there was a formula how muchit cost, how much the customer
paid, what the profit was, howmuch we paid for the last mile
delivery, so the bike that cameto pick up and then understand
exactly how much a transactioncost.
Now we had a sheet per month.
(13:43):
From the beginning we understoodthe need to keep records.
Yes, and I don't even thinkwe're being intentional about it
.
I think it was just from aplace of let's actually know
what the business is doing.
It wasn't like oh, we need tokeep records.
Yes, and I don't even thinkwe're being intentional about it
.
I think it was just from aplace of let's actually know
what the business is doing.
It wasn't like, oh, we need tobe calculated.
Nothing was calculated.
You can tell even from the namewe gave ourselves.
We didn't think that we'regoing to last as long as we have
to be very honest, we just didthe right things because we
(14:05):
sought wise counsel.
So we had an accountant in ouroffice at the beginning.
Just ask questions, who canoffer you free services?
So we had an accountant in ouroffice At the beginning.
Just ask questions, who canoffer you free services?
So we asked an accountant okay,how can?
We already had a makeshiftthing.
But he helped us beef it upwith all these formulas, amazing
formulas Okay, you can't touchthis cell, don't touch that cell
, just impute things in thiscell.
And they need to calculateeverything.
And little did we know that Xnumber of years down the line.
(14:28):
Those things helped us get aloan, for example from Lagos
State, because we had ourrecords intact.
So yeah, back to therelationship between Anna Amma
and I.
That trust was always there.
From the beginning.
Everything was 50-50.
We contributed 50% each toregister the business, get our
first promotional materials, andthose are the major costs we
had.
Remember we were working out ofthe boots of our cars and
(14:51):
whatever costs we bore to ourpartners, whether international
partners or local partners, wealready incurred.
We passed them on to thecustomer.
So we didn't have that manycosts.
We just made sure we saved.
We didn't pay ourselvesanything at the time and it
reinvested everything back intothe business.
So, being partners with myfriend, oh yeah, how we've been
(15:12):
able to maintain therelationship.
It's about having split roles.
That's where I was going Havingsplit roles.
I was more like the person thathad the that organized the
templates, the template emailsthat go out, the terms and
conditions.
I reviewed everything.
When something goes wrong, okay, let's go and add it to the
terms and conditions.
Viewed everything.
When something goes wrong,we're like okay, let's go and
add it in terms and conditions.
When we learn a new thing,let's go and add it in terms and
conditions.
So that was my.
That resided with me and Iwould obviously continue with
(15:35):
the calculations, et cetera, andnegotiations with our partners.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
So when did you then decide to leave your full-time
job and face it fully?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
I think it was a year or a year plus into our nine to
fives the company decided topull out of Nigeria.
So Amma's department wasn'tdoing as well or they didn't
have that many projects at thetime, so they tried to pull out
of Nigeria.
And when they made thatdecision, I still had a job, so
I had three months.
I was still on for three months, but the business still carried
on and Jan Tugidi, as it wasnow, was really growing.
And then next thing, my owndepartment pulled out as well.
So it was now was reallygrowing.
And then next thing, my owndepartment pulled out as well.
So it was like, okay, are wegoing to get paid employment or
(16:13):
are we going to face chance toget it full time?
At that point, we had obviouslygenerated some amount of
revenue and had to make thedecision one way or the other
Based on the traction we hadbuilt at the time.
This was 2030, end of 2014.
We thought, okay, let's see howthis goes for a year.
So we decided to go in fulltime for a year and then, if it
(16:36):
didn't work out, after a yearand at this time, actually,
other ama also got married thesame year she got married in
december of 2013.
I got married february of 2013and so it was a new year.
We're like, okay, no, it wasjust one year in.
And they were like, okay, let'sdecide.
We decided, okay, do it for ayear.
If it doesn't work out to goback into paid employment, being
out for a year wouldn't be sobad.
It would still be to findsomething and, to the glory of
(16:56):
god, we haven't looked backsince 2015 that we went
full-time.
Wow, got our office space andeverything, yeah.
So that's how we set upfull-time.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Congratulations on that, yeah.
So let's talk about funding andwhat your funding journey has
been like.
So you both started thisbusiness in 2013.
What did the startup grants andinvestor space look like for
you in the early days?
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Back then we started with our own savings.
There wasn't much in terms of.
In fact, we were shying awayfrom investors.
At the time, somebody wasinterested in funding our
business, but I think it's lackof, I think it's ignorance on
our part.
I'm just being scared of losingthe business.
We were shielded.
No, we're not interested.
We're not interested.
We went to approach someone tohelp us with I think it was
marketing, some kind of digitalmarketing.
(17:43):
He was an expert at it.
Oh, he wants a stake when we'renot giving any stake to anybody
.
In hindsight, with the benefitof hindsight, we should have
probably opened our doors and atleast listened to the
opportunities that these partiespresented, but we just
protected the business, and Ithink that's one of the things
that we probably have going forus.
We'd never know what would havehappened if we did take other
people's money, but at the time,we just focused on plowing
(18:03):
money, but on bootstrappinggenerate revenue, put it back in
the business, generate and putit back in the business.
At some point started payingourselves a salary, but never.
It was never.
Something that we decided topay was after we now got this.
The accountant I said we wereworking with that was in our
company when we're all maderedundant.
He came on board as our financeconsultant.
(18:24):
Fantastic yeah, and he's stillwith us, still today.
He's still our financeconsultant we have an in-house
accounting service, but he'sstill our finance consultants
managing our books and justkeeping us compliant.
So, yeah, shout out to fdiconsulting, yeah.
So funding, yeah, was generallybootstrapped till 2021.
Uh, no, till 2017, when we gotthe lagos state loan.
(18:46):
From the lagos state, yeah,lagos state employment trust
fund.
We got five million naira andfor us it was a huge.
It was a big deal at the timewhen Lagos states funded us, or
rather, gave us the loan.
We added to our fleets.
Now this was 2017 and we didn'tknow 2020, covid year, was
coming, wow.
So we added to the fleet andall of a sudden, three years
(19:09):
later, our major source ofrevenue, which were imports, had
to go on hold.
There were no internationalflights, so we had to now fall
back to our second in quotes,second in command, local
deliveries, and that was whatreally kept us going through
COVID.
So imagine we didn't have thatfleet.
We don't know what would havehappened.
(19:29):
So we're just grateful for theloan that Lsctf gave to us,
which we fully paid.
In fact, we paid by 2020because, of the three year loan.
Yeah, three year loan at fivepercent.
So it was nice and easy for usto pay to return the money after
that.
We also got grants here andthere.
We got a grant from variant andby advisory, you apply, present
(19:50):
yourself, present your numbers,and then they give you the
grant.
We also won a pitchingcompetition from NESG, nigerian
Economic Summit Group.
Yeah, so we won that in Abujaand then we had a family and
friends round.
So we're like okay, this iswhat we've done.
Are you willing to put yourmoney behind us?
So we approached family andfriends.
(20:10):
And let's not forget that evenif you're approaching family and
friends, you still need to comecorrect.
You can't just go and say, oh, Ihave this hobby I'm doing.
No, we had a registered company.
Oh, at that time, we had abusiness name, actually, because
at the beginning, we just saidlet's just do something quick.
So we did a business name.
But then Then, when it was timeto take on family and friends,
we transitioned into a limitedliability company.
(20:32):
Okay, so we had our corporategovernance in place, we had our
corporate structure in place,presented our numbers and showed
our business plan, etc.
And that was how we were ableto raise $100,000 from family
and friends.
Wow, that's $100,000?
.
Yeah, dollars, yes, please.
Fantastic.
So that was the firstopportunity.
After that, we got into anaccelerator.
(20:52):
In fact, we got into twoaccelerators.
The first was Startup Bootcamp,in 2023.
We got into Startup Bootcamp,accelerator, and then, recently,
techstars.
So Techstars working from DC.
So that's how we kind of raisedfunds continue to bootstrap,
continue to invest more in thebusiness and continue to look
for how to boost our revenues,rather than always waiting on
(21:15):
external funding.
Having said that, though, we'redefinitely open to funding
opportunities, but, of course,in the immediate, we're just
focusing on boosting revenues,improving efficiency and
tightening up our operations.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
That's fantastic.
Thank you so much for sharingthat in such detail, kike.
I think our listenersappreciate that, especially
women or people men and womenwho are building and exploring
what funding looks like.
So in 2023, that was when, atyour 10th anniversary, you
announced a major rebrand.
You went from Jan Tegidi toCargo Plug.
(21:51):
So what inspired thistransformation?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
So we realized that obviously Jan Tegidi no longer
represented who we were.
We had started doing deliveriesfrom the US, from Canada, china
, turkey, all over the world,basically to Nigeria, and
started doing exports, localdeliveries, all sorts of things.
We became a one-stop shop fordeliveries into, out of and
within Nigeria.
So early on I think even fromour third year we realized that
(22:17):
the name no longer suited ourpurposes.
But at the time Jantini wasstill so cool, it was still
gaining momentum, so we didn'twant to kill it at that time.
But when it came to the 10-yearmilestone we thought, okay,
it's time for us to move on andgive ourselves a better name
that now represented who we wereand where we were going.
So Cargo Plug just seemed likethe perfect name because it just
(22:40):
represents that we're your plugfor anything cargo.
So, driven by our vision forgrowth and to have a stronger
reputation in internationallogistics, we were going to
reposition for B2B customers andwe realized that going to B2B
to pitch, going to maybe amultinational to pitch Jan to
Giddy, just didn't sit well.
So we had to come up with astronger name that represented
(23:02):
exactly who we were.
So yeah, cargo plug.
We're bigger, better, morecapacity, more confidence, ready
for bigger transactions.
Basically, that's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
So earlier on we're talking about the accelerator
programs that you got into.
You mentioned it so briefly,but I want to drill down a
little bit more.
So recently you got into theTechstars DC Accelerator Program
.
Congrats to both of you.
So what was that experiencelike and what were your big
takeaways from doing thatprogram?
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Oh, ok, it was intense.
So it was three months inSeptember, from September of
2024.
And it was just focused onhaving a growth strategy.
That was one of the key thingswe wanted from Techstars
actually access to their network, and then that handholding
because we're just coming intotech, so we built a tech team
internally.
We're just coming into tech, sowe built a tech team internally
.
We're just coming into tech.
(23:54):
We had built our dashboards easyto use dashboards that could
power our logistics services,because in the past our
processes were pretty manual, sowe built our tech in-house and
also built shipping apis so wecould plug into, for example, an
amazon.
So if amazon, if we do openthat door into amazon, we
already have a product readythat can plug in their
deliveries from Amazon UK or USto Nigeria via CargoBlog.
(24:17):
So we had built all that butthen still weren't so
established in tech space.
So joining a tech acceleratorwas the benefit was to at least
increase our access to thenetwork of tech stars and help
us with investor readiness.
So we know that we want toraise money.
But then how do we bestposition for 2020?
This was 2024.
For 2024, how best to approachVCs, how best to fine tune our
(24:41):
pitch, how to gain confidencewith pitching, whether you're
pitching online or pitchingphysically, etc.
And I think Techstars helps uswith handholding through
executing our ideas.
Those are one of the some ofthe biggest takeaways from
textas and this is that sidesmeeting the other founders doing
amazing things around the worldnot just the big us, but around
the world and they'repartnering with other founders
(25:04):
in the community and building acommunity around textas.
Textas is global, so just beingable to tap into it to the
existing network it was great tohave that opportunity and the
validation or the credibilitythat comes with being a
Techstars-backed company alsohelps you leverage with
introducing yourself,introducing your business and
getting to meet investors,getting to meet other customers
(25:27):
and just having doors open foryou that you wouldn't have been
able to open on your own.
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
So you talked about building your own tech platform.
Talk us through how you wereleveraging technology internally
at Cargo Plug.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
I'll go back to how we started, with tech, without
tech.
So at the beginning we wouldhave if someone wanted to use
our UK address, for example,they would send us an email, and
then we would send them back anemail with the template saying
this is how it works, these areour charges, et cetera.
Now, before going ahead to getan address, you pay us a fee
because we needed to know whowas sending things.
(26:02):
We didn't want to receivepackages whose owners we didn't
know, so we needed a system.
So we had to receive a paymentfrom you.
So, so we had to receive apayment from you, so Kika would
pay her 5K or whatever it was,and then we'll have your email
address, your home address, etcetera, et cetera.
Now, once we closed at 5 pm,this couldn't happen.
Customers that wanted to shopwould not be able to get our UK
address, and we knew how muchmoney we're leaving on the table
(26:24):
, how many upset customers wewould have or frustrated
customers we would have.
So we wanted a system thatwould allow us, that would
automate the process, so that,even if it's 2 am and somebody
wants to shop, they can log intosomewhere, process their
details immediately, get anaddress.
Okay, now, during COVID, ammaactually went and learned web
development, so she built thewebsite initial website, yeah,
(26:46):
so she built one that automatedthe entire process.
You would get to the platform,make your payment on the payment
processor Automatically, theaddress pops up on your screen
and it also gets delivered toyour email.
So that was like the basicstart, and then the rest was
pretty much manual.
But at least that worked for usto help customers who needed to
reach us out of office hoursand had a shopping need.
(27:07):
Now we decided to build on that, because we still were leaving
money on the table and leavingproblems unsolved.
So we decided to start our ownproper tech team.
We always had issues withwebsite developers.
Either they leave us hanginghalfway, or it wasn't up to par,
or it just didn't do what itwas supposed to do.
So we decided let's buildsomething in-house.
So we owned the place our ownproprietary technology.
(27:31):
So we said let's build somethingin-house.
So we owned the place, our ownproprietary technology, so we
said let's do this userdashboard.
So let me be able to.
I'll be able to log in, see allher shipments that she's got,
see the different deliveryaddresses across the world,
track her shipments.
Just make life easy for ourcustomers.
That user journey, userexperience, was key for us and
still is key for us.
(27:59):
So we built the shipping, thedashboards, but besides that, we
figured that if we'redelivering on behalf of 100
tickets and out of those 100tickets, a lot of them are
shopping from ASOS, the fastfashion, asos, fashion, nova,
shein, amazon, et cetera whydon't we then build something
for the sheen right, so that wecan deliver to sheen's millions
of customers, rather than just100 chickens who need to shop
from asos, for example?
So that was where we built ourshipping apis, where we can plug
(28:22):
into a platform, even if it's aany kind of website, but we
design it for leading platforms,so like ecommerce or Shopify,
so we would have a plugin thatallows them to plug our services
to their platforms, such thatif a seller in Wisconsin, the US
, has a wig coming to Nigeriaand the client chooses Nigeria
(28:46):
automatically, it's consumed byour APIs and it comes in via
cargo plug.
So we also built that.
That's still our proprietarytechnology and that was that's
how we managed to automate thefront end and the back end.
So customers now get trackinginformation.
When your package gets to theoffice in the UK, for instance,
you get a notification sayingyour package has arrived.
(29:07):
You waste 10 kg.
This is the cost.
You can even now take upinsurance.
So you take up insurance, signup for insurance, have your
goods covered from the UK allthe way to your doorstep in
Nigeria.
It's helped our customerssignificantly.
They've seen a huge impact.
Now the customers don't evenneed to speak to us.
They just go on the platform,see everything they need and
receive their shipmentseamlessly.
(29:27):
It's radically transformed howwe run the business and how
we've been able to solvecustomers' problems, whether
you're a B2C or B2B customer.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
That is fantastic, and you guys build this all
in-house.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Yes, all in-house.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Yes, that is incredible, kike.
What does your footprint looklike today?
What does CargoPlug's footprintlook like today?
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Okay, so Cargo Plug is basically operating from
literally think of any country.
We have a network in thatcountry that can bring the goods
into Nigeria.
Just recently opened our firstself-run hub, actually in the UK
.
So I just returned from the UKsetting up our first hub.
And we've always had partnersin the UK, but this time we're
doing it on our own, we'reputting our big big girl pants
(30:09):
on and running operationsdirectly by ourselves.
So, yeah, so the UK, I guesswe've put our.
At least we have a cargo plugflag in quotes, now positioned
in the UK in addition to Nigeria, but of course, around the
world.
As I said, we have networks ofpartners, amazing, reliable
partners who basically make uslook good.
So if you have a shipment inHolland or wherever, we'll be
(30:30):
able to bring it to Nigeria.
Now, as regards export, samething we can also deliver from
Nigeria to any country in theworld.
While it's not our core, it'snot our focus, it's still a
service that exists and runsvery well.
In addition to that, we havemover services.
So if people are relocatingfrom one city to the other
within Nigeria, we can help them, or relocating from here to
(30:51):
Canada and so on.
So, yeah, we're pretty muchcovering everywhere and looking
to do way more, cross-africa inparticular.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
So you've been building this business for a
while 13 years now and your teamhas grown tremendously.
What are your thoughts aroundcompany culture?
It's interesting to hear thatyou've had the same account
consultant for the last 13 years.
How have you and Ama beenintentional about building a
(31:17):
company culture at Cargo?
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Plug.
Yes, interestingly, you askthat because we didn't have a
company culture.
We're not intentional about itfor the first five years.
Okay, now when we turned five,we got a consultant another
consultant like a brandconsultant, right and one of the
things he made us realize isthat you have to have every
family has its DNA.
Either, even if you can claimto be a family member, you can
(31:41):
be of the same surname, but ifwe do the DNA test and you're
not a member of the family,you're not a member of the
family.
So that was where we instilledcore values.
So we made it easy for everyoneto understand rice.
Four values, so we made it easyfor everyone to understand rice
.
Everybody knows rice, but in ourcontext it's reliable,
intelligent or innovative,customer focused and exciting.
Those are the four things whichmake us who we are.
(32:04):
So back then, when we haddispatch riders, we would say
but even now for our drivers, ifyou are one hour away, don't
call a client and say I'm 10minutes away or I'm just on body
loan, I'm almost there.
No, make, be a person of yourword and we make them believe
that it's not just for work.
Even outside, like in your ownpersonal lives.
Be a person, try and be.
(32:26):
Just be reliable.
Right then innovative.
Think on your feet.
How best can we solve thecustomer's problems?
As a brand, we're alwaysthinking of how to make it
better, how to fine-tune it.
We try and use the serviceourselves like experience it the
way the customer would just seehow best we can innovate.
And we've changed so much overthe years and of course there's
still more change to come.
(32:47):
And then being intelligent, ofcourse, is don't just think
within a box.
A customer calls you and asksfor something that isn't black
and white.
Think in the gray, think inother colors and try and just
solve the customer's problemefficiently.
And then, being customerfocused, the customer literally
is at the center of everythingwe do.
I think like a customer.
I think about how I was beforestarting Janskidi.
(33:09):
This was before we even startedthis business at all.
What were my problems, whatwere my pain points and how
would I have wanted them to beaddressed?
Those help us form and, ofcourse, listen to our customers
now.
So, even if we've gone, we'reso far removed from being Kike
and Amal back then.
That always looked fortraveling, friends and family.
But what are the problems thatour current customers are still
(33:29):
facing now.
And?
But what are the problems thatour current customers are still
facing now and how can we solvethem?
How do customers cope witheverything that we're doing?
And then exciting.
You know what it's like wantingto receive anything from the UK
or from anywhere.
You're excited.
You don't want to have to gothrough stress and hell and high
water just to get your pair ofshoes or you want to get things
for your company.
So if you're bringing in yourstock, your customers are
waiting.
(33:49):
You're looking to make money.
Your company, your business,has its needs.
You have to be excited toreceive our delivery and you
just make sure that, okay, whenyou pick up the phone, have a
smile on your face so that atleast on the other end you know
they're talking to a pleasantperson, not like you're doom and
gloom and bringing this colorto somebody else's life.
So just having being intentionalabout our core values and
making sure that everybody, atevery level of the company, even
(34:12):
if you're a cleaner in theoffice, you should know how to
at least welcome customers intothe office, and I think that has
helped us.
And, as you said, the financeconsultant has been with us for
all these years.
But even our driver.
We have a driver who hascelebrated his ninth year
anniversary with us and I thinkanother member of the team the
head of our imports team joinedus in 2015 and 2016 and he's the
(34:35):
level of growth it's just beena joy to watch.
And we know that he will knowhe probably won't be in cargo
plugs forever, but wherever hegoes he will definitely be a
shining star because he's grownso much.
He's transformed into a brightyoung man from the person that
came into our office.
So I think that culture ofinvesting in people, training
them, letting, being transparentabout our processes, helping
(34:59):
them see that you can startsomething, no matter how small,
and make sure your processes arein place to bring it to
something in a few years time,something that you can at least
leave for your, for the nextgeneration so I think that, yeah
, and back to the rice corevalues it helps us even when
hiring.
So when we're hiring, we're notjust looking for someone that
can do the job.
(35:19):
No, did you show up on time tothe interview?
If you were running late, didyou let us know you were running
late?
We throw questions to thecandidates based on our core
values, to see if they'reactually culture fits, not just
a skill, not just a skills andskills fits, not just skill fit,
but also culture fits, to seeif they're actually culture fits
, not just a skill, not just askills and skills fits, not just
skill fit, but also culturefits, to see how they'll fit
into the organization.
So, yeah, those are the thingswe do about being intentional
(35:41):
about company culture.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
I'm really impressed with your core values.
Rice, I like that.
I like that a lot.
I wonder what the next fiveyears looks like for Cargo Plug.
What do you think the next fiveyears looks like it?
Speaker 2 (35:52):
just looks like being more established as Cargo Plug,
ranging our service to morebusinesses, doing things at a
greater scale, opening up morehubs, solving the problem at a
larger scale, moving with thetimes, with technology at our
forefront, the customers at ourforefront, and just being a.
Our vision is to be thepreferred indigenous
(36:13):
tech-enabled delivery companyand just going, moving closer
and closer towards achievingthat within the next two, three
and five years, and just beingexcited about the future, having
raised money or not raisedmoney, boosting revenues and
keeping our investors, our teamand our customers and ourselves,
(36:34):
because sometimes you forgetyourself as a founder but you
also have to be happy being ableto do the job, being happy
keeping our homes intact andjust being generally, I think,
fulfilled as founders, as peopleand even as customers, because,
of course, we're customers ofCargo Plugs.
So, yeah, that's what I see usdoing in the next five years.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
That's great.
So I normally end my interviewsby asking my guests to do two
things One is to reflect,another is to give advice.
So, from the reflection pointof view you talked earlier about
how we don't give ourselves ourflowers enough, that we need to
acknowledge the things thatwe've done.
I'm just giving you anopportunity now to just look
(37:15):
back at your journey from lawschool to now leading a
tech-driven logistics company.
What would you say is one ofyour proudest moments or
proudest achievements so far?
Speaker 2 (37:28):
Reaching that 10-year milestone was huge, because you
have no idea, we had no ideathat we were going to get 10.
And I think it wasn't untilwe're in the room doing the
rebrand and everything was like,wow, we did it, jo.
But yeah, regardless of thechallenges, see, forex hasn't
been on our side, it hasn't beenon the side of anybody, but
(37:49):
through the differentdispensations we've had, the
different leaders, the differentchallenges, the difference, see
, it's been a very, it hasn'tbeen a smooth, it hasn't been
smooth sailing, and I guessthat's the same thing for any
business that's operating,particularly in Nigeria.
But being able to pull throughand still be standing after 10
years, we're not where we wantto be, or we were not even where
(38:09):
we wanted to be at 10.
But the fact that we made it,yeah, I think that's one of the
biggest achievements that we,one of the things I'm most proud
of, and even not just that wemade it as a company, but we
made it as partners.
Yeah, I'm still with ama handholding, hand in hand on
unveiling cargo plug.
So, yeah, being able to do thatwith ama by my side and me also
(38:30):
still by her side 10 yearslater, was a moment of pride for
us.
Then, secondly, our CNN feature.
So we'd always seen a number ofour customers would be on CNN.
We're just admiring and beinggenuinely happy for these people
.
And then we got the email fromCNN that we want you to be
featured.
What Just being recognized bythat global channel was just
(38:51):
well, cnn's Inside Africa, yeah,behind the tech boom in West
Africa.
So that was just another proudmoment for us.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
So yeah, that was great.
It was great to watchCongratulations.
We were all so proud of youboth.
So, kike, if you could give onepiece of advice to other women
who are building businesses inAfrica, what would that be?
Speaker 2 (39:11):
Start where you are.
I think we said that already.
Start where you are.
And in saying that, I'm stillspeaking to myself and I'm
speaking as someone who justlaunched a UK hub, so it's new
for us.
So just start, just go and thenfigure it out as you go along.
Then secondly would be to startwith the proper structure.
Yeah, have structure in yourbusiness From having letters of
(39:31):
employment.
Let them know what they'redoing, what's their job
description, what's the penaltyfor ex-behavior, is it
pre-agreed?
Just have structure.
Basically, that's the summary.
So, regulation compliance ifthere's a license, you need to
have.
Even if you're selling soaps athome, you need to have license.
Get your nafda license.
Start properly so that you canbuild, even though we're saying,
(39:52):
start where you are.
At the point where you're stillmixing the cream without the
license, that's where you'restill selling to your friends
and family.
But by the time you startlaunching your business onto
social media or a website, startproperly, brand properly,
market properly, open your mouthand talk about your business.
So those are the few things Ithink I'll leave me your
business thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
So how can our listeners learn more about the
services that Cargo Plug offers?
Speaker 2 (40:16):
They can learn more.
Go on our website,wwwgetcargoplugcom, or visit our
social media platforms ifthat's more within reach.
Jan Tugidi, unfortunately wewere verified as Jan T Segidi
before we changed our name andnow we're having a difficulty
changing our handle to CargoPlug.
So it's still Jan Segidi,j-a-n-d, the digits two G-I-D-I,
(40:40):
but we have a second page atGet Cargo Plug, so that's on
Instagram.
We're also on LinkedIn and,yeah, on Facebook as well.
So everywhere, get Cargo Plug.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Awesome.
Thank you so much, kike.
This has been great.
Thank you, inka.
Thank you so much for having me.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you're not alreadysubscribed, please do so on
Apple, spotify or wherever youget your podcasts, and don't
forget to leave us a review sowe know how we're doing.
I'm Akego Okoye and you havebeen listening to African
(41:12):
Business Stories.
With more female entrepreneurs than any other
region in the world.
Women are at the heart ofAfrica's transformation.
Welcome to African BusinessStories, the show that amplifies
the voices of femaleentrepreneurs shaping Africa's
business landscape.
I'm your host, ekego Koye.
Here we explore bold ideas,strategies for scaling and the
(00:25):
realities of building businessesthat drive economic development
.
These stories will provideinsights into Africa's business
landscape, practical tools forgrowth and the inspiration to
navigate your ownentrepreneurial journey.
Be sure to subscribe, rate andshare.
Neural journey.
(00:51):
Be sure to subscribe, rate andshare On the show.
Today I chat with Kike LamontFola, ogunian, co-founder of
Cargo Plug, a tech-enabledlogistics company that's
redefining cross-border shippingfor African businesses.
What began as a side hustlecalled Jan to Giddy has grown
into a full-fledged businesswith global reach, proprietary
technology and recognition fromCNN.
(01:11):
We talk about Kike's journeyfrom law to logistics,
bootstrapping throughuncertainty, building with a
co-founder and transforming apersonal pain point into a
thriving venture.
It's a conversation aboutvision, resilience and building
with intention.
Let's get into it, hi, kike.
Welcome to African BusinessStories, hi.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Ego.
Thank you so much for having me.
Glad to be here to share mystory.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Awesome.
It's so good to be able to sitdown with you and talk about
your business and your journey.
I feel like I've been followingyour story for what may be 10,
11 years now I don't even knowhow long but it's amazing to
have watched your business growand I'm grateful for the
opportunity to be able to shareyour story with the world.
(02:00):
I think you and Amma have doneincredible and yeah so I can't
wait to get into it, but Ialways start from the very
beginning.
So if you and Amar have doneincredible, and yeah so I can't
wait to get into it, but Ialways start from the very
beginning.
So if you can just share alittle bit about where you grew
up, some fond memories from when, from way back in the day, I'm
assuming that you were born inLagos, but you know you can
correct me if I'm wrong, butwhere were you?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
born.
Okay, thank you, ego.
Yeah, I was actually born inthe UK.
Oh, there you go, yeah, but Ididn't grow up there from the uk
, came to lagos as a baby.
I've lived most of my life here, so primary school, secondary
school, and then went to the ukback to the uk for school, for
university, for a leveluniversity and my master's.
Then came back to nigeria to dolaw school, which is where we
(02:40):
met and, yeah, here we areseveral years later and sharing
our stories.
Yeah, fond memories.
I was the only girl out of fourchildren, I think that kind of
shaped and I was the first childof my mom and that kind of
shaped me into, I think, leadingthe path.
And then, as far as childhoodmemories go, I think I just
(03:02):
remember having, I think, mrBiggs.
It's funny, mr Biggs was one ofthe major highlights or
something that we always report,so my dad would always take us
there at the weekends and thatwas just something that I felt
like I should form.
Another tradition, like similartradition with my own daughter.
Now I just remember many happymoments like us playing, just
playing with reckless abandon,and I got that from my mom.
(03:24):
She's very playful, but, ofcourse, when it comes to
discipline, there's time foreverything and my dad is the
ultimate disciplinarian.
He was in the military, so youcan imagine we definitely needed
that balance that my mom,brought.
those are the kind of fondmemories I have from growing up
with my brothers and just beinga girly girl, but being a tomboy
at the same time, and then justcoming into my own now as a
(03:45):
girly girl.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
I remember the donut from Mr Biggs.
I still think that's the bestdonut.
I think it's still in here tilltoday.
I cannot wait to try it again,because I've tried so many
donuts.
Nothing is as good as Mr Biggsdonut.
Yeah, yeah, I totally agree.
So what inspired you to studylaw?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
my half sister was a law, is a lawyer, okay, and that
kind of was my firstintroduction to law, I know.
Growing up there was a pictureof her in her wig and gown and I
just thought, oh gosh, shelooks so beautiful.
And then I think maybe mypersonality just led me to law.
I honestly don't remember thepoint at which I said, okay,
it's law I'm going to study.
But I just know I've alwaysbeen a humanities student.
(04:27):
I'm from secondary school, Iwas good in government subjects
like that, english, etc.
So I think naturally after myin fact before my A-levels, I
already knew I wanted to do anA-levels that was law-based.
So of course, from there Iobviously went into undergrad
for law.
So I think it just happened,but I'm still glad it happened.
What did your career look?
Speaker 1 (04:48):
like after law school .
Speaker 2 (04:49):
So after law school, of course, so as we don't
disappoint our parents the firstthing was obviously to look for
a law firm.
But during my NYC I worked inan oil company.
I worked in the HR department,just happened.
I don't even know how I landedthere, but that's where I ended
up doing HR.
But of course I already knewthat after NYSE, if I wasn't
retained which wasn't likely Iwas going to go into a law firm.
(05:10):
So I started applying, went tothe best of the best law firms
for interviews etc.
And I finally started workingat ALEX, which is one of the top
law firms in Nigeria.
So I worked there as a lawyer,as an associate, for about two
years, and my practice area inparticular was IP, so
intellectual property.
I didn't really know much aboutit when I joined, but of course
(05:30):
, by the time I left ALEKS I wasa different kind of person.
I was a different kind oflawyer.
I learned so much under thetutelage of my partner at the
time.
Our partner, mr Emua, and therest of my colleagues ALEKS
shaped me as well Coming out ofschool.
(05:50):
I struggled at first, though,because I think I preferred
school law to actual practice,even though I didn't actually go
to court, the actual practiceof understanding how best to
respond to clients' emails, howto tackle, how to approach or
answer clients' questions, etcetera.
Those made the formative yearsof my legal career and I thought
I was going to really excel inthe legal space.
But of course I did for thetime that.
I was there for two years andthen moved on to something else
(06:14):
For me.
Honestly, by the second year Ithink I was already I realized
that I really didn't really likelaw in practice, and so when
the opportunity came to go intooil service, back into the oil
industry, I jumped at theopportunity.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
You finished at ALEX.
You joined this oil servicecompany and just from
researching I know that the ideafor a business came while you
were there.
So just talk us through whatled you to conceive this idea of
starting Jan to Gidi, as yourbusiness was called then.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, when we joined, when I joined the oil service
company, I had my friendintroduced me to the company
actually Ama, who is now myco-founder and she had told me
that they were recruiting.
I'd already said to her that Iwas looking for a job.
I was looking for somethingelse and she said, oh, there's a
vacancy in her organization andI thought, okay, I would apply.
And I did and I got the job.
So that's when we got closer.
She was already working therein a different department, in
(07:08):
the engineering department, so Ijoined training services.
I was a project supportcoordinator.
I needed my legal skills aswell.
Of course.
I applied my legal skills inthat space, but just that it
wasn't at the forefront.
But yeah, when I joined, wewould always ask.
I know at this time Amma hadalso come back from uni in the
UK, same as myself, so wealready had started asking for
(07:30):
friends and traveling relativescoming back.
I know that when we were in lawschool I didn't have enough
time to even shop for law schoolblack and white outfits.
I didn't even have enough timebecause I was rounding up my
master's and rushing back toNigeria for my law school, so I
didn't have enough of the blackand white, and then you just
always asked if anybody wascoming back.
So the problem started therefrom when I first landed in
(07:50):
Nigeria.
Within a few weeks I realized,oh my goodness, I don't have
enough black and white outfits.
And we were stuck in Bwari,which is a village in Abuja.
I had no idea where to shop,even in Lagos.
Back then I didn't know whereto shop.
I didn't know where to buyanything.
So immediately the problemstarted where can I get goods
from?
And my only I, my only thoughtas an adult that had spent seven
(08:11):
years in the UK, was shop fromthe UK.
I already had the stores I wasaccustomed to that were my
favorites, and I just wanted tokeep the habits.
We'll start asking fortraveling friends and relatives.
And we realized in a shortperiod of time there was a
headache.
Finding someone who was willingto carry a package for you was
a problem.
Even finding a way to pay foryour goods was a problem.
So carry a package for you wasa problem.
(08:31):
Even finding a way to pay foryour goods was a problem.
So this was already a problembefore I even joined this
organization.
Now, when I joined, I foundsomeone else who had the same
problem that I had.
So we had a pain of shoppingand just wanting to wear
something for a wedding, a pairof shoes and back then there
were shippers, but then theywould charge maybe high minimum
wage, or there wasn't anytracking.
You couldn't see what washappening.
(08:51):
The person I found seemed likehe was doing me a favor.
The customer service was zeroand it was just like okay, I'll
pick up your goods or send yourgoods to me whenever I should
get it.
So Anna and I thought, no, thiscan't, there has to be a better
way of doing this.
So we ordered an item from acompany who delivered to Nigeria
at the time, and we walkedbackwards and found out that if
(09:12):
these people could do it,obviously we can do it for
ourselves and obviously startedbusiness from there.
We're like, okay, this wasexactly the statement that
started it.
It's been let's try and solvethis problem, and that was how
we started.
During our lunch break, westarted coming up with the idea
of starting something to solvethat UK to Nigeria problem, and
that was where the name Jand toGidi came up.
(09:33):
So of course, jand means UK andGidi means Nigeria, lagos, but
in our context, nigeria as awhole.
That's where Jand to Gidi cameup and of course at the time we
just thought UK to Nigeria solvethat problem and we had no
plans of doing anything outsideof the UK to Nigeria.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
So how was it starting up and working
full-time?
What did that look like for you?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
guys.
It looked like a headachetrying to balance everything and
for me, I had just gottenmarried, okay, so I was
balancing a new home, a newbusiness, a new partnership with
Ama and also, obviously, doingmy day job nine to five.
So how we looked was we createdan instagram page.
Thankfully, instagram was still.
We loved instagram back thenbecause everybody that followed
(10:17):
you could see your content.
Now algorithm has changedeverything, yeah, but anyways,
yeah, we started the instagrampage, put out contents just
saying contact us for yourdeliveries from the uk to
nigeria.
Now, because we knew we had aday job, we put that SMS only or
email only, but of course, oncethere's a show number, people
are going to call you and ofcourse, we had to be accountable
(10:40):
to our clients.
So we'll do what we can.
Maybe return calls at our lunchbreak, schedule meetings for
our lunch break.
We come to the office to havemeetings with our partners, but
we'll do that during our lunchbreak or after office hours.
Now, we started as a petproject, so Alma and I would
test with our own shipmentsshipments for family and friends
and then gradually, we startedgaining the confidence and
(11:01):
understanding the system, andthen that was when we started
launching the business onInstagram and so on.
Now, when the packages arrived,back then we would be upstairs,
but then we had our cars whereour offices at the time, so we
would deliver.
We would just open, press yourkey, open up your car from
upstairs.
The delivery company knows whatto do.
Our partners that brought thegoods in already know.
No way Drop the packages, comeupstairs with the proof of
(11:24):
delivery, we'll sign everythingand go back to work.
Wow, and then after work, wewould then find delivery
companies, and back then thiswas 2013 when we started.
In 2013, there weren't thatmany delivery companies as we
have now.
So sometimes Ama and I honestlywould just jump in the car and
go and do deliveries ourselves,especially if they were on the
island.
We had an official email,something jantagidi at gmailcom
(11:50):
and then, in a short while, ofcourse, we had info at
jantaginicomng made everythingofficial, had a website and
literally everybody who knew usknew that we had a new business
and that we're solving the UK toNigeria problem, and our job
was just to get the word out.
There we're shouting from therooftops everything that we did
and that was how we built ourfirst, I think, 1000 followers
on Instagram and continue tobuild till today.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
That's incredible.
So you co-founded this businesswith Ama, who is your friend.
I've interviewed so many women,so many business owners in the
past and we talk aboutco-founder success or co-founder
breakup, and you know what thatcan be like.
You guys have been together nowfor what?
Going on?
13 years.
Yeah, what's that journey beenlike?
Are there some lessons you'velearned from building with a
(12:35):
co-founder who also happens tobe your friend?
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Both We've learned so much from each other and I
think the key thing that I thinkstill holds us together till
date is trust and thatcommunication, trust,
communication and, I think,transparency.
So at the beginning, right fromthe start, we already knew as I
joined as a lawyer, she's anengineer we already knew we had
strength.
So, personally, assessyourselves.
(13:01):
What exactly are you bringingto the table?
Math, mathematics, in fact, Ican't stand numbers.
I don't know whether that's alaw thing or just I don't know
what it is, it probably is Kike,so of course we knew she would
be the numbers person.
So, tracking of customers' datawe had an Excel spreadsheet.
(13:21):
So if Ego was getting 10 kgfrom the UK, we would write it
there.
Ego coin 10 kg, we would writehow much it cost us.
So, there, kg, we will writehow much it cost us.
So there was a formula how muchit cost, how much the customer
paid, what the profit was, howmuch we paid for the last mile
delivery, so the bike that cameto pick up and then understand
exactly how much a transactioncost.
Now we had a sheet per month.
(13:43):
From the beginning we understoodthe need to keep records.
Yes, and I don't even thinkwe're being intentional about it
.
I think it was just from aplace of let's actually know
what the business is doing.
It wasn't like oh, we need tokeep records.
Yes, and I don't even thinkwe're being intentional about it
.
I think it was just from aplace of let's actually know
what the business is doing.
It wasn't like, oh, we need tobe calculated.
Nothing was calculated.
You can tell even from the namewe gave ourselves.
We didn't think that we'regoing to last as long as we have
to be very honest, we just didthe right things because we
(14:05):
sought wise counsel.
So we had an accountant in ouroffice at the beginning.
Just ask questions, who canoffer you free services?
So we had an accountant in ouroffice At the beginning.
Just ask questions, who canoffer you free services?
So we asked an accountant okay,how can?
We already had a makeshiftthing.
But he helped us beef it upwith all these formulas, amazing
formulas Okay, you can't touchthis cell, don't touch that cell
, just impute things in thiscell.
And they need to calculateeverything.
And little did we know that Xnumber of years down the line.
(14:28):
Those things helped us get aloan, for example from Lagos
State, because we had ourrecords intact.
So yeah, back to therelationship between Anna Amma
and I.
That trust was always there.
From the beginning.
Everything was 50-50.
We contributed 50% each toregister the business, get our
first promotional materials, andthose are the major costs we
had.
Remember we were working out ofthe boots of our cars and
(14:51):
whatever costs we bore to ourpartners, whether international
partners or local partners, wealready incurred.
We passed them on to thecustomer.
So we didn't have that manycosts.
We just made sure we saved.
We didn't pay ourselvesanything at the time and it
reinvested everything back intothe business.
So, being partners with myfriend, oh yeah, how we've been
(15:12):
able to maintain therelationship.
It's about having split roles.
That's where I was going Havingsplit roles.
I was more like the person thathad the that organized the
templates, the template emailsthat go out, the terms and
conditions.
I reviewed everything.
When something goes wrong, okay, let's go and add it to the
terms and conditions.
Viewed everything.
When something goes wrong,we're like okay, let's go and
add it in terms and conditions.
When we learn a new thing,let's go and add it in terms and
conditions.
So that was my.
That resided with me and Iwould obviously continue with
(15:35):
the calculations, et cetera, andnegotiations with our partners.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
So when did you then decide to leave your full-time
job and face it fully?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
I think it was a year or a year plus into our nine to
fives the company decided topull out of Nigeria.
So Amma's department wasn'tdoing as well or they didn't
have that many projects at thetime, so they tried to pull out
of Nigeria.
And when they made thatdecision, I still had a job, so
I had three months.
I was still on for three months, but the business still carried
on and Jan Tugidi, as it wasnow, was really growing.
And then next thing, my owndepartment pulled out as well.
So it was now was reallygrowing.
And then next thing, my owndepartment pulled out as well.
So it was like, okay, are wegoing to get paid employment or
(16:13):
are we going to face chance toget it full time?
At that point, we had obviouslygenerated some amount of
revenue and had to make thedecision one way or the other
Based on the traction we hadbuilt at the time.
This was 2030, end of 2014.
We thought, okay, let's see howthis goes for a year.
So we decided to go in fulltime for a year and then, if it
(16:36):
didn't work out, after a yearand at this time, actually,
other ama also got married thesame year she got married in
december of 2013.
I got married february of 2013and so it was a new year.
We're like, okay, no, it wasjust one year in.
And they were like, okay, let'sdecide.
We decided, okay, do it for ayear.
If it doesn't work out to goback into paid employment, being
out for a year wouldn't be sobad.
It would still be to findsomething and, to the glory of
(16:56):
god, we haven't looked backsince 2015 that we went
full-time.
Wow, got our office space andeverything, yeah.
So that's how we set upfull-time.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Congratulations on that, yeah.
So let's talk about funding andwhat your funding journey has
been like.
So you both started thisbusiness in 2013.
What did the startup grants andinvestor space look like for
you in the early days?
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Back then we started with our own savings.
There wasn't much in terms of.
In fact, we were shying awayfrom investors.
At the time, somebody wasinterested in funding our
business, but I think it's lackof, I think it's ignorance on
our part.
I'm just being scared of losingthe business.
We were shielded.
No, we're not interested.
We're not interested.
We went to approach someone tohelp us with I think it was
marketing, some kind of digitalmarketing.
(17:43):
He was an expert at it.
Oh, he wants a stake when we'renot giving any stake to anybody
.
In hindsight, with the benefitof hindsight, we should have
probably opened our doors and atleast listened to the
opportunities that these partiespresented, but we just
protected the business, and Ithink that's one of the things
that we probably have going forus.
We'd never know what would havehappened if we did take other
people's money, but at the time,we just focused on plowing
(18:03):
money, but on bootstrappinggenerate revenue, put it back in
the business, generate and putit back in the business.
At some point started payingourselves a salary, but never.
It was never.
Something that we decided topay was after we now got this.
The accountant I said we wereworking with that was in our
company when we're all maderedundant.
He came on board as our financeconsultant.
(18:24):
Fantastic yeah, and he's stillwith us, still today.
He's still our financeconsultant we have an in-house
accounting service, but he'sstill our finance consultants
managing our books and justkeeping us compliant.
So, yeah, shout out to fdiconsulting, yeah.
So funding, yeah, was generallybootstrapped till 2021.
Uh, no, till 2017, when we gotthe lagos state loan.
(18:46):
From the lagos state, yeah,lagos state employment trust
fund.
We got five million naira andfor us it was a huge.
It was a big deal at the timewhen Lagos states funded us, or
rather, gave us the loan.
We added to our fleets.
Now this was 2017 and we didn'tknow 2020, covid year, was
coming, wow.
So we added to the fleet andall of a sudden, three years
(19:09):
later, our major source ofrevenue, which were imports, had
to go on hold.
There were no internationalflights, so we had to now fall
back to our second in quotes,second in command, local
deliveries, and that was whatreally kept us going through
COVID.
So imagine we didn't have thatfleet.
We don't know what would havehappened.
(19:29):
So we're just grateful for theloan that Lsctf gave to us,
which we fully paid.
In fact, we paid by 2020because, of the three year loan.
Yeah, three year loan at fivepercent.
So it was nice and easy for usto pay to return the money after
that.
We also got grants here andthere.
We got a grant from variant andby advisory, you apply, present
(19:50):
yourself, present your numbers,and then they give you the
grant.
We also won a pitchingcompetition from NESG, nigerian
Economic Summit Group.
Yeah, so we won that in Abujaand then we had a family and
friends round.
So we're like okay, this iswhat we've done.
Are you willing to put yourmoney behind us?
So we approached family andfriends.
(20:10):
And let's not forget that evenif you're approaching family and
friends, you still need to comecorrect.
You can't just go and say, oh, Ihave this hobby I'm doing.
No, we had a registered company.
Oh, at that time, we had abusiness name, actually, because
at the beginning, we just saidlet's just do something quick.
So we did a business name.
But then Then, when it was timeto take on family and friends,
we transitioned into a limitedliability company.
(20:32):
Okay, so we had our corporategovernance in place, we had our
corporate structure in place,presented our numbers and showed
our business plan, etc.
And that was how we were ableto raise $100,000 from family
and friends.
Wow, that's $100,000?
.
Yeah, dollars, yes, please.
Fantastic.
So that was the firstopportunity.
After that, we got into anaccelerator.
(20:52):
In fact, we got into twoaccelerators.
The first was Startup Bootcamp,in 2023.
We got into Startup Bootcamp,accelerator, and then, recently,
techstars.
So Techstars working from DC.
So that's how we kind of raisedfunds continue to bootstrap,
continue to invest more in thebusiness and continue to look
for how to boost our revenues,rather than always waiting on
(21:15):
external funding.
Having said that, though, we'redefinitely open to funding
opportunities, but, of course,in the immediate, we're just
focusing on boosting revenues,improving efficiency and
tightening up our operations.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
That's fantastic.
Thank you so much for sharingthat in such detail, kike.
I think our listenersappreciate that, especially
women or people men and womenwho are building and exploring
what funding looks like.
So in 2023, that was when, atyour 10th anniversary, you
announced a major rebrand.
You went from Jan Tegidi toCargo Plug.
(21:51):
So what inspired thistransformation?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
So we realized that obviously Jan Tegidi no longer
represented who we were.
We had started doing deliveriesfrom the US, from Canada, china
, turkey, all over the world,basically to Nigeria, and
started doing exports, localdeliveries, all sorts of things.
We became a one-stop shop fordeliveries into, out of and
within Nigeria.
So early on I think even fromour third year we realized that
(22:17):
the name no longer suited ourpurposes.
But at the time Jantini wasstill so cool, it was still
gaining momentum, so we didn'twant to kill it at that time.
But when it came to the 10-yearmilestone we thought, okay,
it's time for us to move on andgive ourselves a better name
that now represented who we wereand where we were going.
So Cargo Plug just seemed likethe perfect name because it just
(22:40):
represents that we're your plugfor anything cargo.
So, driven by our vision forgrowth and to have a stronger
reputation in internationallogistics, we were going to
reposition for B2B customers andwe realized that going to B2B
to pitch, going to maybe amultinational to pitch Jan to
Giddy, just didn't sit well.
So we had to come up with astronger name that represented
(23:02):
exactly who we were.
So yeah, cargo plug.
We're bigger, better, morecapacity, more confidence, ready
for bigger transactions.
Basically, that's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
So earlier on we're talking about the accelerator
programs that you got into.
You mentioned it so briefly,but I want to drill down a
little bit more.
So recently you got into theTechstars DC Accelerator Program
.
Congrats to both of you.
So what was that experiencelike and what were your big
takeaways from doing thatprogram?
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Oh, ok, it was intense.
So it was three months inSeptember, from September of
2024.
And it was just focused onhaving a growth strategy.
That was one of the key thingswe wanted from Techstars
actually access to their network, and then that handholding
because we're just coming intotech, so we built a tech team
internally.
We're just coming into tech, sowe built a tech team internally
.
We're just coming into tech.
(23:54):
We had built our dashboards easyto use dashboards that could
power our logistics services,because in the past our
processes were pretty manual, sowe built our tech in-house and
also built shipping apis so wecould plug into, for example, an
amazon.
So if amazon, if we do openthat door into amazon, we
already have a product readythat can plug in their
deliveries from Amazon UK or USto Nigeria via CargoBlog.
(24:17):
So we had built all that butthen still weren't so
established in tech space.
So joining a tech acceleratorwas the benefit was to at least
increase our access to thenetwork of tech stars and help
us with investor readiness.
So we know that we want toraise money.
But then how do we bestposition for 2020?
This was 2024.
For 2024, how best to approachVCs, how best to fine tune our
(24:41):
pitch, how to gain confidencewith pitching, whether you're
pitching online or pitchingphysically, etc.
And I think Techstars helps uswith handholding through
executing our ideas.
Those are one of the some ofthe biggest takeaways from
textas and this is that sidesmeeting the other founders doing
amazing things around the worldnot just the big us, but around
the world and they'repartnering with other founders
(25:04):
in the community and building acommunity around textas.
Textas is global, so just beingable to tap into it to the
existing network it was great tohave that opportunity and the
validation or the credibilitythat comes with being a
Techstars-backed company alsohelps you leverage with
introducing yourself,introducing your business and
getting to meet investors,getting to meet other customers
(25:27):
and just having doors open foryou that you wouldn't have been
able to open on your own.
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
So you talked about building your own tech platform.
Talk us through how you wereleveraging technology internally
at Cargo Plug.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
I'll go back to how we started, with tech, without
tech.
So at the beginning we wouldhave if someone wanted to use
our UK address, for example,they would send us an email, and
then we would send them back anemail with the template saying
this is how it works, these areour charges, et cetera.
Now, before going ahead to getan address, you pay us a fee
because we needed to know whowas sending things.
(26:02):
We didn't want to receivepackages whose owners we didn't
know, so we needed a system.
So we had to receive a paymentfrom you.
So, so we had to receive apayment from you, so Kika would
pay her 5K or whatever it was,and then we'll have your email
address, your home address, etcetera, et cetera.
Now, once we closed at 5 pm,this couldn't happen.
Customers that wanted to shopwould not be able to get our UK
address, and we knew how muchmoney we're leaving on the table
(26:24):
, how many upset customers wewould have or frustrated
customers we would have.
So we wanted a system thatwould allow us, that would
automate the process, so that,even if it's 2 am and somebody
wants to shop, they can log intosomewhere, process their
details immediately, get anaddress.
Okay, now, during COVID, ammaactually went and learned web
development, so she built thewebsite initial website, yeah,
(26:46):
so she built one that automatedthe entire process.
You would get to the platform,make your payment on the payment
processor Automatically, theaddress pops up on your screen
and it also gets delivered toyour email.
So that was like the basicstart, and then the rest was
pretty much manual.
But at least that worked for usto help customers who needed to
reach us out of office hoursand had a shopping need.
(27:07):
Now we decided to build on that, because we still were leaving
money on the table and leavingproblems unsolved.
So we decided to start our ownproper tech team.
We always had issues withwebsite developers.
Either they leave us hanginghalfway, or it wasn't up to par,
or it just didn't do what itwas supposed to do.
So we decided let's buildsomething in-house.
So we owned the place our ownproprietary technology.
(27:31):
So we said let's build somethingin-house.
So we owned the place, our ownproprietary technology, so we
said let's do this userdashboard.
So let me be able to.
I'll be able to log in, see allher shipments that she's got,
see the different deliveryaddresses across the world,
track her shipments.
Just make life easy for ourcustomers.
That user journey, userexperience, was key for us and
still is key for us.
(27:59):
So we built the shipping, thedashboards, but besides that, we
figured that if we'redelivering on behalf of 100
tickets and out of those 100tickets, a lot of them are
shopping from ASOS, the fastfashion, asos, fashion, nova,
shein, amazon, et cetera whydon't we then build something
for the sheen right, so that wecan deliver to sheen's millions
of customers, rather than just100 chickens who need to shop
from asos, for example?
So that was where we built ourshipping apis, where we can plug
(28:22):
into a platform, even if it's aany kind of website, but we
design it for leading platforms,so like ecommerce or Shopify,
so we would have a plugin thatallows them to plug our services
to their platforms, such thatif a seller in Wisconsin, the US
, has a wig coming to Nigeriaand the client chooses Nigeria
(28:46):
automatically, it's consumed byour APIs and it comes in via
cargo plug.
So we also built that.
That's still our proprietarytechnology and that was that's
how we managed to automate thefront end and the back end.
So customers now get trackinginformation.
When your package gets to theoffice in the UK, for instance,
you get a notification sayingyour package has arrived.
(29:07):
You waste 10 kg.
This is the cost.
You can even now take upinsurance.
So you take up insurance, signup for insurance, have your
goods covered from the UK allthe way to your doorstep in
Nigeria.
It's helped our customerssignificantly.
They've seen a huge impact.
Now the customers don't evenneed to speak to us.
They just go on the platform,see everything they need and
receive their shipmentseamlessly.
(29:27):
It's radically transformed howwe run the business and how
we've been able to solvecustomers' problems, whether
you're a B2C or B2B customer.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
That is fantastic, and you guys build this all
in-house.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Yes, all in-house.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Yes, that is incredible, kike.
What does your footprint looklike today?
What does CargoPlug's footprintlook like today?
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Okay, so Cargo Plug is basically operating from
literally think of any country.
We have a network in thatcountry that can bring the goods
into Nigeria.
Just recently opened our firstself-run hub, actually in the UK
.
So I just returned from the UKsetting up our first hub.
And we've always had partnersin the UK, but this time we're
doing it on our own, we'reputting our big big girl pants
(30:09):
on and running operationsdirectly by ourselves.
So, yeah, so the UK, I guesswe've put our.
At least we have a cargo plugflag in quotes, now positioned
in the UK in addition to Nigeria, but of course, around the
world.
As I said, we have networks ofpartners, amazing, reliable
partners who basically make uslook good.
So if you have a shipment inHolland or wherever, we'll be
(30:30):
able to bring it to Nigeria.
Now, as regards export, samething we can also deliver from
Nigeria to any country in theworld.
While it's not our core, it'snot our focus, it's still a
service that exists and runsvery well.
In addition to that, we havemover services.
So if people are relocatingfrom one city to the other
within Nigeria, we can help them, or relocating from here to
(30:51):
Canada and so on.
So, yeah, we're pretty muchcovering everywhere and looking
to do way more, cross-africa inparticular.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
So you've been building this business for a
while 13 years now and your teamhas grown tremendously.
What are your thoughts aroundcompany culture?
It's interesting to hear thatyou've had the same account
consultant for the last 13 years.
How have you and Ama beenintentional about building a
(31:17):
company culture at Cargo?
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Plug.
Yes, interestingly, you askthat because we didn't have a
company culture.
We're not intentional about itfor the first five years.
Okay, now when we turned five,we got a consultant another
consultant like a brandconsultant, right and one of the
things he made us realize isthat you have to have every
family has its DNA.
Either, even if you can claimto be a family member, you can
(31:41):
be of the same surname, but ifwe do the DNA test and you're
not a member of the family,you're not a member of the
family.
So that was where we instilledcore values.
So we made it easy for everyoneto understand rice.
Four values, so we made it easyfor everyone to understand rice
.
Everybody knows rice, but in ourcontext it's reliable,
intelligent or innovative,customer focused and exciting.
Those are the four things whichmake us who we are.
(32:04):
So back then, when we haddispatch riders, we would say
but even now for our drivers, ifyou are one hour away, don't
call a client and say I'm 10minutes away or I'm just on body
loan, I'm almost there.
No, make, be a person of yourword and we make them believe
that it's not just for work.
Even outside, like in your ownpersonal lives.
Be a person, try and be.
(32:26):
Just be reliable.
Right then innovative.
Think on your feet.
How best can we solve thecustomer's problems?
As a brand, we're alwaysthinking of how to make it
better, how to fine-tune it.
We try and use the serviceourselves like experience it the
way the customer would just seehow best we can innovate.
And we've changed so much overthe years and of course there's
still more change to come.
(32:47):
And then being intelligent, ofcourse, is don't just think
within a box.
A customer calls you and asksfor something that isn't black
and white.
Think in the gray, think inother colors and try and just
solve the customer's problemefficiently.
And then, being customerfocused, the customer literally
is at the center of everythingwe do.
I think like a customer.
I think about how I was beforestarting Janskidi.
(33:09):
This was before we even startedthis business at all.
What were my problems, whatwere my pain points and how
would I have wanted them to beaddressed?
Those help us form and, ofcourse, listen to our customers
now.
So, even if we've gone, we'reso far removed from being Kike
and Amal back then.
That always looked fortraveling, friends and family.
But what are the problems thatour current customers are still
(33:29):
facing now.
And?
But what are the problems thatour current customers are still
facing now and how can we solvethem?
How do customers cope witheverything that we're doing?
And then exciting.
You know what it's like wantingto receive anything from the UK
or from anywhere.
You're excited.
You don't want to have to gothrough stress and hell and high
water just to get your pair ofshoes or you want to get things
for your company.
So if you're bringing in yourstock, your customers are
waiting.
(33:49):
You're looking to make money.
Your company, your business,has its needs.
You have to be excited toreceive our delivery and you
just make sure that, okay, whenyou pick up the phone, have a
smile on your face so that atleast on the other end you know
they're talking to a pleasantperson, not like you're doom and
gloom and bringing this colorto somebody else's life.
So just having being intentionalabout our core values and
making sure that everybody, atevery level of the company, even
(34:12):
if you're a cleaner in theoffice, you should know how to
at least welcome customers intothe office, and I think that has
helped us.
And, as you said, the financeconsultant has been with us for
all these years.
But even our driver.
We have a driver who hascelebrated his ninth year
anniversary with us and I thinkanother member of the team the
head of our imports team joinedus in 2015 and 2016 and he's the
(34:35):
level of growth it's just beena joy to watch.
And we know that he will knowhe probably won't be in cargo
plugs forever, but wherever hegoes he will definitely be a
shining star because he's grownso much.
He's transformed into a brightyoung man from the person that
came into our office.
So I think that culture ofinvesting in people, training
them, letting, being transparentabout our processes, helping
(34:59):
them see that you can startsomething, no matter how small,
and make sure your processes arein place to bring it to
something in a few years time,something that you can at least
leave for your, for the nextgeneration so I think that, yeah
, and back to the rice corevalues it helps us even when
hiring.
So when we're hiring, we're notjust looking for someone that
can do the job.
(35:19):
No, did you show up on time tothe interview?
If you were running late, didyou let us know you were running
late?
We throw questions to thecandidates based on our core
values, to see if they'reactually culture fits, not just
a skill, not just a skills andskills fits, not just skill fit,
but also culture fits, to seeif they're actually culture fits
, not just a skill, not just askills and skills fits, not just
skill fit, but also culturefits, to see how they'll fit
into the organization.
So, yeah, those are the thingswe do about being intentional
(35:41):
about company culture.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
I'm really impressed with your core values.
Rice, I like that.
I like that a lot.
I wonder what the next fiveyears looks like for Cargo Plug.
What do you think the next fiveyears looks like it?
Speaker 2 (35:52):
just looks like being more established as Cargo Plug,
ranging our service to morebusinesses, doing things at a
greater scale, opening up morehubs, solving the problem at a
larger scale, moving with thetimes, with technology at our
forefront, the customers at ourforefront, and just being a.
Our vision is to be thepreferred indigenous
(36:13):
tech-enabled delivery companyand just going, moving closer
and closer towards achievingthat within the next two, three
and five years, and just beingexcited about the future, having
raised money or not raisedmoney, boosting revenues and
keeping our investors, our teamand our customers and ourselves,
(36:34):
because sometimes you forgetyourself as a founder but you
also have to be happy being ableto do the job, being happy
keeping our homes intact andjust being generally, I think,
fulfilled as founders, as peopleand even as customers, because,
of course, we're customers ofCargo Plugs.
So, yeah, that's what I see usdoing in the next five years.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
That's great.
So I normally end my interviewsby asking my guests to do two
things One is to reflect,another is to give advice.
So, from the reflection pointof view you talked earlier about
how we don't give ourselves ourflowers enough, that we need to
acknowledge the things thatwe've done.
I'm just giving you anopportunity now to just look
(37:15):
back at your journey from lawschool to now leading a
tech-driven logistics company.
What would you say is one ofyour proudest moments or
proudest achievements so far?
Speaker 2 (37:28):
Reaching that 10-year milestone was huge, because you
have no idea, we had no ideathat we were going to get 10.
And I think it wasn't untilwe're in the room doing the
rebrand and everything was like,wow, we did it, jo.
But yeah, regardless of thechallenges, see, forex hasn't
been on our side, it hasn't beenon the side of anybody, but
(37:49):
through the differentdispensations we've had, the
different leaders, the differentchallenges, the difference, see
, it's been a very, it hasn'tbeen a smooth, it hasn't been
smooth sailing, and I guessthat's the same thing for any
business that's operating,particularly in Nigeria.
But being able to pull throughand still be standing after 10
years, we're not where we wantto be, or we were not even where
(38:09):
we wanted to be at 10.
But the fact that we made it,yeah, I think that's one of the
biggest achievements that we,one of the things I'm most proud
of, and even not just that wemade it as a company, but we
made it as partners.
Yeah, I'm still with ama handholding, hand in hand on
unveiling cargo plug.
So, yeah, being able to do thatwith ama by my side and me also
(38:30):
still by her side 10 yearslater, was a moment of pride for
us.
Then, secondly, our CNN feature.
So we'd always seen a number ofour customers would be on CNN.
We're just admiring and beinggenuinely happy for these people
.
And then we got the email fromCNN that we want you to be
featured.
What Just being recognized bythat global channel was just
(38:51):
well, cnn's Inside Africa, yeah,behind the tech boom in West
Africa.
So that was just another proudmoment for us.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
So yeah, that was great.
It was great to watchCongratulations.
We were all so proud of youboth.
So, kike, if you could give onepiece of advice to other women
who are building businesses inAfrica, what would that be?
Speaker 2 (39:11):
Start where you are.
I think we said that already.
Start where you are.
And in saying that, I'm stillspeaking to myself and I'm
speaking as someone who justlaunched a UK hub, so it's new
for us.
So just start, just go and thenfigure it out as you go along.
Then secondly would be to startwith the proper structure.
Yeah, have structure in yourbusiness From having letters of
(39:31):
employment.
Let them know what they'redoing, what's their job
description, what's the penaltyfor ex-behavior, is it
pre-agreed?
Just have structure.
Basically, that's the summary.
So, regulation compliance ifthere's a license, you need to
have.
Even if you're selling soaps athome, you need to have license.
Get your nafda license.
Start properly so that you canbuild, even though we're saying,
(39:52):
start where you are.
At the point where you're stillmixing the cream without the
license, that's where you'restill selling to your friends
and family.
But by the time you startlaunching your business onto
social media or a website, startproperly, brand properly,
market properly, open your mouthand talk about your business.
So those are the few things Ithink I'll leave me your
business thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
So how can our listeners learn more about the
services that Cargo Plug offers?
Speaker 2 (40:16):
They can learn more.
Go on our website,wwwgetcargoplugcom, or visit our
social media platforms ifthat's more within reach.
Jan Tugidi, unfortunately wewere verified as Jan T Segidi
before we changed our name andnow we're having a difficulty
changing our handle to CargoPlug.
So it's still Jan Segidi,j-a-n-d, the digits two G-I-D-I,
(40:40):
but we have a second page atGet Cargo Plug, so that's on
Instagram.
We're also on LinkedIn and,yeah, on Facebook as well.
So everywhere, get Cargo Plug.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Awesome.
Thank you so much, kike.
This has been great.
Thank you, inka.
Thank you so much for having me.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you're not alreadysubscribed, please do so on
Apple, spotify or wherever youget your podcasts, and don't
forget to leave us a review sowe know how we're doing.
I'm Akego Okoye and you havebeen listening to African
(41:12):
Business Stories.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com