After a two-year journey, a Nigerian startup employing a delivery-facilitating app, DropX, has closed its doors, becoming part of the increasing number of Nigerian startups succumbing to the challenging economic landscape of 2023.
Announcing the closure of the company, the founder, Alli-Johnson, said the woes of the company started with the gap between driver pay expectations and what users were willing to pay.
“To address this, we aligned our prices with those of Bolt and catered exclusively to high-value customers dealing with bulk food deliveries, cakes, luxury goods, etc. This market segment cared more about the item’s condition than the cost,” he said.
Founded in 2021 by Praise Alli-Johnson and Oluwatope Liasu, DropX set out with ambitious aspirations—to revolutionize local deliveries in Abuja, forging swift and reliable connections between businesses and individuals.
Despite an initial surge in enthusiasm, the startup encountered a confluence of factors that led to the founders’ decision to cease operations. The harsh economic realities prevailing in 2023 played a pivotal role in this unfortunate outcome for DropX.
In its early days, the concept gained momentum, attracting 2,000 users through enticing free initial deliveries. Additionally, the startup enlisted the support of 500 drivers, predominantly car owners already active in the gig economy through ride-hailing platforms.
Despite these promising beginnings, the challenges proved insurmountable, prompting the founders to make the difficult decision to discontinue the venture after investing two years in pushing its boundaries.
