Contrary to a report by Techawk that Gokada, one of the leading on-demand motorcycle startups in Lagos State has shut down, news reaching us shows that Gokada is still very much in operations albeit on a much smaller scale.
The new report reveals that Gokada has laid off some of its staff members (as much as 70%) as it plans to focus on deliveries to cushion the impact of the okada ban.
Gokada founded in 2018 by Fahim Saleh appears to have been hit the most by the okada ban among the 3 popular on-demand motorcycle hailing startups operating in Lagos. The other two are ORide by OPay and MaxOkada.
As rumours of either the sack or shut down of Gokada was raging, Saleh posted an emotional message on the Gokada Twitter Handle- @Gokada reacting to the Lagos transport ban on motorcycles.
He emphasised that Gokada has created thousands of jobs for riders who previously could not find employment adding that Gokada is safe. Saleh did not reference if they have actually sacked their workers or not.
The Gokada CEO eventually confirmed the sack of workers on February 3rd in a tweet and the fact that the on-demand motorcycle hailing startup is now pivoting into deliveries.
@ulonnaya while much of your report is accurate, we still have money in the bank and are pivoting towards deliveries while this transport ban gets sorted. we were due to make a profit in January before the ban was announced.
— Fahim Saleh (@fahims) February 3, 2020
He tweeted: While much of your report is accurate, we still have money in the bank and are pivoting towards deliveries while this transport ban gets sorted. we were due to make a profit in January before the ban was announced.”
The Lagos State Government had proscribed the operations of motorcycles in six Local Government Areas (LGAs), nine Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) and 10 major highways across the State with effect from February 1.
LASG directed security operatives to embark on total enforcement of the State’s Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018 to immediately address the chaos and disorderliness created by illegal operations of Okada and tricycle riders in restricted areas.
