Nigeria’s rising transport costs are putting fresh pressure on businesses that depend on frequent deliveries, forcing merchants to look beyond traditional delivery models for ways to control fulfillment costs.
The average fare for bus journeys within Nigerian cities rose to N1,431.25 in May 2026, up 38.63% from N1,032.46 a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Average Okada fares rose even faster, increasing 52.45% year-on-year to N1,072.51.
The increases add another cost to an already challenging operating environment for small businesses, particularly online merchants who fulfill orders one delivery at a time.
Higher transport and fuel costs mean more money spent moving products, with the expense often passed on to consumers through delivery charges or higher product prices.
ChamsAccess, a Nigerian technology company, is responding with MarketRide, a digital commerce and delivery platform designed to bring consumers, merchants and riders into one ecosystem.
The platform combines MarketRide User for consumers, MarketRide Merchant for businesses and MarketRide Go for logistics.
MarketRide Go uses a multi-order delivery model, allowing riders to fulfil several orders within the same area during a single trip.
ChamsAccess says the model will reduce unnecessary mileage and fuel consumption while giving riders opportunities to earn more from each trip.
The platform also includes GPS tracking, OTP-based delivery verification, rider training, branded equipment and prompt payment settlement.
For merchants, MarketRide Merchant offers order management, automated rider dispatch, sales monitoring and customer insights.
ChamsAccess says merchant commissions will range from five to 15%, depending on the service and category, compared with platforms where commissions and related charges can exceed 30%, although wider market benchmarking would be needed to establish the broader industry comparison.
The timing gives the platform a sizeable potential market. NCC data showed 154.35 million active internet subscriptions on mobile networks in April 2026, creating a large pool of digitally connected consumers and businesses.
Yet internet access alone will not guarantee adoption. MarketRide will need enough merchants, customers and riders in each location to make its multi-order model work efficiently.
ChamsAccess Chief Executive Officer, Olayemi Odufeso, said, “We built MarketRide to close the gap between ambitious entrepreneurs, and consumers ready to embrace digital commerce.
"This is not just for Lagos, but for every urban centre where inefficient logistics is holding back economic growth.”
This puts its central proposition to a practical test: whether better coordination, rather than simply more riders, can help make digital commerce cheaper and more efficient.
