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Dispatch & Logistics Business: Start and Run a Delivery Operation in Nigeria

From one bike to a small fleet: registration and insurance, vehicles, riders and road safety, bookings and routes, pricing and cash on delivery, proof of delivery, interstate partners, security and the numbers that decide whether you grow.

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About this course

Every online seller, restaurant and pharmacy in a Nigerian city needs things delivered, and the delivery businesses that win are the ones customers can rely on. This course teaches how to start and run one properly. You will learn the business models from on-demand dispatch to contracted last-mile and interstate agency, the registration, courier-licensing, vehicle, rider and insurance questions to settle before you start, how to choose, maintain and track bikes and vans, how to hire, pay, train and protect riders fairly, how to take bookings with the details that prevent failed deliveries and plan routes, how to price by zone and handle cash on delivery without losing money, how to prove delivery and handle damage, loss and disputes, how to work with motor parks and courier partners for interstate delivery, how to keep riders safe from robbery and the business safe from fraud and prohibited items, and how to measure and grow. Every lesson follows a former Lagos dispatch rider building his own company. Road safety and rider welfare come before speed in every lesson. Free, like every Skillnaija course.

For four years Emeka Nwosu rode dispatch in Lagos for somebody else. He knew every short cut between Yaba and Ikeja, and he knew the evenings that went wrong: forty minutes outside a shop while a seller wrapped a bag she had promised was ready, a customer who stopped picking up, a parcel carried back with nobody sure who would pay for the second trip. Now, at 27, he and his partner Bola have saved enough for two motorcycles. Hauwa, who makes bags in Kano and keeps her Lagos stock with an agent in Ikeja, has told him she will move her deliveries to him if he is more dependable than the rider who lost two of her parcels last month. Emeka thinks he is starting a bike business. He is really starting a reliability business, and the bikes are the smallest part of it.

What you'll learn

Course syllabus — 10 lessons

  1. The delivery business in Nigeria16 min
  2. Registration, licences, insurance and the rules16 min
  3. Bikes, vans and the fleet16 min
  4. Riders: hiring, pay, safety and trust16 min
  5. Bookings, dispatching and routes16 min
  6. Pricing, cash and cash on delivery17 min
  7. Proof of delivery, damage, loss and disputes16 min
  8. Interstate, parks and partners16 min
  9. Security, fraud and prohibited items16 min
  10. Growing the business and the project17 min

Your project

Your Delivery Business Launch Plan

One document (Google Doc with view access, or an uploaded Word or PDF file) with a headed section for each of the six parts. Tables are welcome. Everything fictional; no real personal data.

Certificates on Skillnaija are earned, not issued for attendance: you submit this project, it is graded against a rubric, and passing issues a certificate anyone can verify. See the full project brief, rubric and free workbook →

Frequently asked questions

Is Dispatch & Logistics Business: Start and Run a Delivery Operation in Nigeria free?

Yes. Dispatch & Logistics Business: Start and Run a Delivery Operation in Nigeria is completely free on Skillnaija. You need a free account to open the lessons, and there is no charge for the course, the project, or the certificate.

How long does Dispatch & Logistics Business: Start and Run a Delivery Operation in Nigeria take to complete?

5 weeks · ~3 hrs/week. There are 10 lessons, about 3 hours of material in total. You learn at your own pace and your progress is saved.

Do I need any experience to start Dispatch & Logistics Business: Start and Run a Delivery Operation in Nigeria?

Beginner. You can start from scratch — no prior experience is assumed.

What will I learn in Dispatch & Logistics Business: Start and Run a Delivery Operation in Nigeria?

You will build practical skills in Delivery business models, Registration, licensing and insurance in outline, Fleet selection and maintenance, Rider recruitment, pay and safety, Bookings, dispatching and route planning, Zone pricing and delivery costing, Cash on delivery and reconciliation, Proof of delivery and incident handling, Interstate and partner logistics, Security, fraud and prohibited items, Logistics KPIs, Contract clients and growth. Every lesson is written for a Nigerian context, with examples drawn from how the work is actually done and paid for here.

Do I get a certificate for Dispatch & Logistics Business: Start and Run a Delivery Operation in Nigeria?

Yes, but it has to be earned. You complete the course project — Your Delivery Business Launch Plan and submit it for grading. Passing the project issues a verifiable certificate; finishing the lessons alone does not.

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