On a humid afternoon in Abuja, Israel Okon and his co-founder Daniel Okon, are busy explaining why they believe Africa’s next big opportunity isn’t fintech but logistics. “Every economy runs on supply chains,” Israel says with quiet conviction. “Products have to move, and if you can’t move goods efficiently, your economy will always remain limited.”
It’s this belief that led the duo to start Movnn, a logistics-tech startup that is quietly stitching together Africa’s fragmented warehousing and distribution landscape.
From classrooms to cargo
Israel’s path to entrepreneurship was seeded early. After studying business management at Nexford University and training at Hope Portal in Cross River State, he pursued his passion for supply chain systems. His co-founder, Daniel, brought in a background in urban and regional planning. Together, they shared a common frustration: Africa’s logistics networks were patchy, underutilised, and largely invisible to global brands.
“We noticed that while fintech was booming, the infrastructure that actually moves goods was being ignored,” Israel recalls. “That’s why global brands found it easy to bypass Africa. The logistics backbone just wasn’t there.”
The spark behind Movnn
Rather than trying to build warehouses from scratch, the founders saw an untapped resource: thousands of underused “skeleton warehouses” scattered across Nigerian cities. By digitally transforming these spaces into fulfillment centres, Movnn could offer storage, packaging, and last-mile delivery - all managed through a single tech dashboard.
Today, when an order comes in through an e-commerce platform, Movnn’s system automatically routes it to the nearest warehouse. The warehouse team packages the item, a logistics partner picks it up, and the customer receives real-time tracking - much like an Amazon or Shopify experience, but built for Africa.
“We’re not competing with logistics operators,” Israel clarifies. “We’re creating an ecosystem that brings them together. Everyone has a role in building Africa’s supply chain story.”
“We’ve actually solved an actual problem in this sector,” Israel explains. “What we did was identify the gaps between infrastructure - the warehouses - and the logistics operators. By bringing them together under one system, we created a full-fledged fulfillment service.”
This model means Nigerian and African products can now gain international visibility because the backbone exists. “If the infrastructure is already in place and it’s being run by people who know the routes, who understand how it works, then the global market can’t ignore Africa,” Israel says.
“Brands can simply partner with us, get their products into our network, and instantly have access to reliable fulfillment. That’s how African businesses can leverage this opportunity to compete globally.”
From WhatsApp to $100,000 GMV
In its early days, Movnn was run manually on WhatsApp. Orders were tracked through simple chats while the team quietly built its tech platform in the background. By June 2025, the product went live. In just three months, Movnn had onboarded 350+ businesses organically, digitised 25 warehouses, and processed $100,000 in GMV - all without a single marketing campaign.
The company also partners with 650 logistics operators across Nigeria, ensuring coverage in all 36 states. Seven states already have full-fledged fulfillment infrastructure, with expansion underway.
Unlike traditional logistics companies that depend on volume-based margins, Movnn has built a commission-driven model that taps into every stage of the fulfillment cycle.
“We generate revenue from commission,” Israel explains. “It’s a commission-based service, embedded across logistics, storage, and fulfillment. Movnn generates revenue through commissions across three channels — logistics, storage, and fulfillment. For every item that passes through its fulfillment facility, the startup earns multiple layers of commission, turning each package into a recurring revenue opportunity.”
This layered approach makes the model both scalable and resilient. Rather than relying on just one part of the chain - Movnn ensures that its growth is tied directly to the growth of its merchants.
“It’s a huge opportunity,” Israel says. “Because every product processed through our system isn’t just a single revenue event - it’s multiple revenue streams from the same item. That’s what makes it such a strong model to operate in.”
Laying the foundation for Africa’s e-commerce dreams
Behind the scenes, Movnn is doing more than connecting warehouses and logistics operators - it is building the very foundation for Africa’s e-commerce future.
“In almost every location, you’ll find warehouses,” Israel explains. “People need to store goods, so they build them. But these warehouses were fragmented, underutilised, and disconnected. What we’ve done is digitally transform these skeleton warehouses into fully functional fulfillment centers powered by our proprietary tech platform.”
Here’s how it works: warehouses provide storage, but with Movnn’s system, they also handle packaging when an order comes in. Logistics partners then pick up directly from the warehouse and deliver to the customer.
All of this happens seamlessly on the Movnn dashboard, where business owners can request deliveries, track packages in real time, and even integrate with their e-commerce websites.
This infrastructure is enabling e-commerce players to finally realise their bold ambitions. “Many want to be the Amazon or Shopify of Africa,” Israel says.
“They want to offer same-day delivery, they want to lower logistics costs. But they lack the infrastructure to make that dream possible. We’ve built that infrastructure for them. Now they can leverage it to grow faster, compete globally, and serve customers with efficiency they never thought possible.”
Moving goods, moving economies
“For any economy to function, it ultimately depends on supply chains,” Israel explains. “Products have to move - how they get into a country, how they are stored, and how they are exported to global markets. Logistics isn’t something that can vanish in the next decade; it’s the foundation every economy is built on.”
While fintech has dominated Africa’s startup spotlight, Israel believes the supply chain industry holds untapped potential that’s simply too big to ignore.
“Fintech is great, and we use many of those solutions to make transactions easier for our businesses. But if you look closely, the real opportunity lies in supply chains. Within the next few years, I believe investor focus will shift — it may even become a 50:50 balance between fintech and logistics,” he says.
For now, Israel admits there are only a handful of investors actively exploring supply chain innovation. But with Movnn laying the digital backbone for warehousing and fulfillment, he’s confident the spotlight will soon swing towards this critical sector.
Challenges and lessons
The biggest hurdle, Israel admits, was convincing warehouse owners to move away from traditional leasing models. “Most of them just wanted lump-sum rent for five years,” he explains. “We were proposing a revenue-sharing model based on usage, which was very new for them.” Persistence and value-driven partnerships eventually helped Movnn secure long-term deals, but the journey wasn’t easy.
Another lesson: execution matters more than ideas. “Having the idea is easy,” Israel says. “Implementation is where many people give up. We just told ourselves, one day at a time, one step forward. That mindset carried us through.”
The road ahead
Bootstrapped initially, Movnn recently began raising external funding, attracting interest from both local and international investors, as well as acceptance into accelerator programmes. The goal is ambitious but clear: expand across Africa, starting with Ghana in 2026, followed by Kenya and South Africa.
The bigger vision for both the co-founders is to reduce logistics costs by up to 65%, giving African businesses global visibility and enabling international buyers to pay for the product - not inflated shipping expenses.
“We want African products to compete globally,” Israel says. “There’s so much talent here, but until you fix the logistics backbone, the world won’t see it.”
Advice to founders
Asked what he would tell aspiring entrepreneurs, Israel doesn’t hesitate: “The going will always get tough. Don’t give up because execution feels hard. Take it one step at a time. Before you know it, you’ve walked a thousand miles.”