Commuting in Lagos, Nigeria is hard! It is stressful! And sometimes, not safe Damilola Olokesusi decided to do something about it. She founded Shuttlers Logistics Company, a platform that allows professionals, companies, fun-seekers access comfortable, safe, efficient yet affordable transportation to and from work and around the city through bus-pooling.
Damilola decided to start the company after her sister was robbed by armed men disguised as public bus drivers, on her way to work. She and her cofounders Busola Majekodunmi, and Damilola Quadry put their savings together and launched the company, and as the business grew, they received grants from the World Bank, Airtel and Sahara Energy, and they were able to go from one to 22 routes.
Through the Shuttlers App, professionals book a seat in a route, pay a subscription, and track arrival and departure times of their rides: “comfortable air-conditioned buses and cars providing them with extra time to catch up on sleep, work or personal development time. Sharing with other professionals also give room for networking opportunities.”
Damilola’s Shuttlers has also launched SHE-MOVES, an initiative supported by the Ford Motor Company Fund and Ford Motor Company in partnership with Global Water Challenge (GWC). According to Ford, SHE-MOVES (Strengthen Her: Mobilizing Ventures for Social Innovation) is designed to provide “Whole-Person Leadership” development and promote access to mobility.
With Shuttlers, the initiative gives female professionals the opportunity to use their otherwise long commute time in traffic as a learning and development time .The project gives them access to online courses, mentors and peer-to-peer support for professional courses they might be interested in taking.
Damilola holds a bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos. She is a part of the Harambean Team for 2018 cohort; an Alliance for highly educated young African social, business and political entrepreneurs, attending leading universities in Asia, Europe and North America.
She won the Award for Digital and Tech award at the Women in Africa Contest in Morocco, Award for the Best Idea at the Aso Villa Demo Day and is also a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum where she leads the Entrepreneurship and Innovation team and is also the Vice-Curator of the Lagos hub for 2019/2020.
In 2019, she was named in Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 list (Technology category).
We celebrate Damilola for providing a solution that will positively impact millions of people as well as making commuting to and from work a productive part of one’s day. We’re rooting for her and the team!
Source: Bellanaija