Gokada’s temporary closure has raised concerns among Nigerians and stakeholders alike. Many of those who lamented the closure said the timing was wrong.
Nairametrics had earlier reported the announcement of the closure made by the Chief Executive Officer of Gokada, Fahim Saleh. Saleh said he hailed a Gokada bike and discovered that the app had developed a fault.
One of the reactions gathered was from a Twitter user @ Ik3chukwu_M who said that the closure was coming at a time when other bike haling platforms were rapidly expanding and so could pose a threat for Gokada.
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Effect on the market share: Ikechukwu said, “In 2 weeks, they will bleed market share that may not be easily recoverable, especially with people thinking they have closed down.”
The market share of Gokada could be at risk of potential fallout, especially at a time like this when other bike-haling platforms are springing up and doing well.
This could no doubt have a large impact on the percentage on the sales of the bike hailing industry that accrue to Gokada, as their customers will jump ships to other platforms and remain there forgetting that the shutdown is only for a while.
Why the closure matters: Although Saleh gave good reasons why Gokada needed to shut down. According to him, the temporary shutdown would afford the company ample time to address the technical issues it experienced. However, Investors are likely to take the plunge and lose faith in the company and its operations. This is because there is no guarantee that sales would resume once the doors get re-opened.
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Another user, @Adetona77 stated that Gokada should have fixed the problems rather than shutting down operations.
“Well, don’t ever suspend operation at your startup like Gokada except you have a lot of money. A particular startup tried this in Lagos, na die dey die. Keep fixing the problem on the side instead.”
The effect on the riders: Questions pertaining to the riders have also come up. The shutdown means that there may be no earnings for the riders throughout the period. This can cause them to leave and join another company. This will, in turn, lead to a reduction of Gokada’s staff.
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