In 2019, truQ CEO and Co-founder Foluso Ojo needed to move a piece of furniture from Lagos Island to the mainland. What should have been a relatively straightforward journey became a four-day search for a suitable vehicle.
The experience exposed a problem that was bigger than finding a truck. Nigeria had vehicles capable of moving heavy goods, but connecting those vehicles with people and businesses that needed them remained fragmented.
That experience eventually led Ojo and her co-founder to launch truQ in 2020.
Today, the company describes itself as a logistics technology platform connecting commercial vehicle operators with individuals and businesses that need to move goods, inventory and heavy cargo. Its services have expanded beyond simple vehicle matching to include logistics operations, delivery aggregation, financing and software tools for commercial fleet operators.
- Recent reporting puts truQ’s activity at more than 300,000 digitised trips, with the company operating in five Nigerian cities.
From a four-day logistics problem to a digital platform
The original concept was relatively simple: create an Uber-like system for trucks and vans that would make it easier for people to move large items.
But the founders soon discovered that vehicle availability was only one part of the problem.
According to Ojo, commercial transporters also faced challenges around cash flow, manual booking processes, payment delays and limited access to tools that could help them operate their businesses more efficiently.
Many logistics transactions were still handled through phone calls, negotiations and handwritten records. For businesses, this could make it difficult to know which vehicle was handling an order, how much a trip would cost or where goods were at a particular point in the journey.
truQ therefore evolved from a simple matching marketplace into a broader logistics infrastructure platform.
The company’s current product ecosystem includes services for commercial vehicle operators, individuals moving goods and businesses seeking more structured third-party logistics operations.
How truQ matches vehicles with cargo
At the centre of truQ’s model is vehicle-to-cargo matching.
Ojo says the platform considers factors such as vehicle type, location, cargo requirements and driver performance when assigning trips.
The objective is to reduce the time customers spend searching for suitable vehicles while helping commercial operators gain access to more jobs.
The company has also built a verification process around its driver network. According to Ojo, transporters go through registration, pre-qualification and verification before they can take jobs through the platform.
That verification layer is particularly important when vehicles are being used to move high-value commercial goods.
The company’s public materials also describe a system through which drivers can record trips, share delivery-status information, receive payments and access financing and other operational support.
Tracking the movement of goods
Visibility is another major component of truQ’s model.
The platform uses digital tools to provide delivery status information and coordinate trips, while its business-facing product, Siju by truQ, includes delivery planning, aggregation, real-time coordination and reconciliation.
For businesses managing multiple deliveries, the goal is to reduce the amount of manual coordination required to keep track of vehicles and shipments.
Ojo acknowledges that technology cannot eliminate physical infrastructure problems.
Traffic congestion, road conditions, connectivity and unexpected delays can still affect delivery timelines. What technology can do, however, is provide businesses with greater visibility into what is happening during a delivery.
Rather than leaving customers uncertain about where their goods are, digital tracking allows the logistics provider to communicate changes and delays as they occur.
Pricing, payments and financing for transporters
Pricing is another area where truQ is attempting to replace informal negotiation with a more structured process.
Ojo says the platform uses factors such as distance and cargo requirements to determine logistics costs rather than relying entirely on arbitrary negotiations between customers and vehicle owners.
The company also places considerable emphasis on transporter cash flow.
truQ’s public platform describes faster payment, trip logging and access to financing for commercial operators. Its driver platform also allows operators to record trips, track expenses, receive payments and purchase insurance for trips.
The company has expanded this model through financial products intended to help small-scale transporters meet operating expenses and grow their businesses.
This financial layer is becoming an increasingly important part of truQ’s identity.
In 2025, truQ won a $100,000 FINCA Competition Grant in the Fintech for Financial Inclusion category. The company said the funding would be used to expand its financial offerings for small-scale transporters.
Building trust around commercial haulage
For Ojo, logistics technology is not simply about moving a vehicle from one location to another.
It is also about creating trust between the customer, transporter and platform.
The informal nature of much commercial transportation can make accountability difficult when something goes wrong. Customers may not know enough about the driver handling their goods, while transporters may have limited documentation of their work history.
truQ’s approach is to create a digital record around the transaction.
Verification, trip records, delivery updates, payment records and insurance can collectively create a more structured logistics process than a transaction arranged entirely through informal channels.
The company also says its services provide insurance options for deliveries, allowing customers to obtain additional coverage depending on the goods being transported.
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From logistics marketplace to enterprise infrastructure
Another significant change in truQ’s evolution has been its move towards business-facing logistics software.
Rather than simply allowing a customer to request a truck, the company’s Siju platform is designed to help businesses manage larger delivery operations.
Its publicly described capabilities include delivery planning and aggregation, access to different vehicle sizes, real-time delivery oversight, pricing configuration and team permissions.
The company also provides API documentation, reflecting its broader ambition to integrate logistics into the systems businesses already use.
This is a different proposition from a conventional delivery marketplace.
Instead of competing only for individual delivery requests, truQ is attempting to become part of the operating infrastructure that businesses use to plan, dispatch and monitor physical distribution.
Why logistics infrastructure matters in Africa
The opportunity is not limited to Nigeria.
UN Trade and Development has identified transport and infrastructure gaps as major barriers to African trade and regional value-chain development. Its 2024 Economic Development in Africa Report notes that transport costs in Africa are among the highest globally and that road transport accounts for about 29% of the price of goods traded within Africa, compared with 7% outside the continent.
For logistics technology companies, these structural inefficiencies represent both a challenge and an opportunity.
The wider digital infrastructure supporting African commerce is also expanding. According to GSMA’s 2026 State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, Africa had about 1.2 billion registered mobile-money accounts at the end of 2025 and processed approximately $1.4 trillion in mobile-money transactions during the year.
Afrobarometer’s 2025 analysis provides another perspective on financial access. Across the 35 African countries included in its 2024/25 survey, 37% of respondents reported owning a bank account, while 60% reported owning a mobile-money account.
For companies building logistics infrastructure, these developments matter because physical commerce increasingly depends on digital payments, digital records and connected business operations.
Aggregating trips to improve efficiency
Ojo also sees technology as a way to reduce unnecessary movement.
truQ’s trip aggregation system is designed to consider factors including routes, vehicle capacity and cargo requirements when planning deliveries.
The objective is to make better use of existing vehicles and reduce unnecessary trips.
The environmental implications are part of the company’s longer-term thinking.
UNCTAD’s 2024 Digital Economy Report has highlighted truQ itself as an example of logistics innovation aimed at reducing unnecessary travel and transport emissions. The report describes the company’s use of order aggregation, driver matching and route optimisation as mechanisms intended to reduce unnecessary trips, fuel consumption and emissions.
For Ojo, sustainability is therefore not separate from logistics efficiency. A system that moves more goods with fewer unnecessary journeys can potentially reduce both operating costs and environmental impact.
Preparing for electric vehicles
The company is also thinking about what the next generation of commercial transportation could look like.
Ojo says truQ is exploring the possibility of integrating electric vehicles into its logistics network.
The transition will not be immediate. Electric commercial vehicles require charging infrastructure, capital investment and operating models suited to local conditions.
But the idea reflects the company’s broader view that logistics infrastructure should evolve alongside changes in transportation technology.
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truQ’s vision for West Africa and beyond
Over the next three to five years, Ojo wants truQ to expand beyond its current Nigerian footprint.
The first part of that vision is deeper penetration across Nigeria, including secondary cities and major industrial corridors.
The second is regional expansion into major West African commercial hubs.
The company ultimately wants businesses to be able to deploy and manage physical distribution networks through a single digital interface.
That ambition also extends to cross-border commerce.
Ojo envisions truQ eventually supporting the movement of goods between neighbouring African countries, helping businesses navigate the operational complexity associated with cross-border logistics.
The vision aligns with the broader objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area’s digital-trade framework, which seeks to establish common rules and standards that facilitate digital trade across African markets.
For truQ, however, turning that vision into reality will require more than software. Cross-border logistics depends on regulatory coordination, transport infrastructure, documentation, payments and interoperability between different national systems.
“Be customer-led rather than product-led”
For early-stage founders, Ojo’s advice is straightforward: build around customers rather than around technology for its own sake.
She argues that founders should test their ideas quickly, put products in front of real users and use feedback to determine what needs to change.
That philosophy mirrors truQ’s own evolution.
The company began with a relatively narrow problem—helping people find vehicles capable of moving large items—but expanded its model after discovering that commercial transporters and businesses faced deeper operational and financial challenges.
Ojo also stresses the importance of understanding unit economics.
In logistics, technology exists alongside physical assets, fuel, maintenance, drivers and roads. A product therefore needs to create measurable operational value rather than relying solely on user growth or other vanity metrics.
She believes founders also need operational empathy.
Building logistics technology requires understanding the people who operate the physical network: drivers, fleet managers, warehouse teams and businesses responsible for moving goods.
Building the digital infrastructure behind African logistics
truQ’s evolution reflects a broader shift in African technology.
The opportunity is no longer limited to building consumer-facing applications. Increasingly, startups are attempting to digitise the infrastructure behind commerce itself.
For truQ, that means connecting commercial vehicles with demand, creating digital records around trips, providing businesses with logistics-management tools and developing financial products for the transporters who keep goods moving.
The company has already moved beyond its original concept of simply matching customers with trucks.
Its stated ambition is considerably broader: to build technology that allows businesses across Africa to manage physical distribution with the same level of visibility and control they have come to expect from digital financial and commerce platforms.
Whether that vision can ultimately scale across borders will depend on execution, infrastructure, regulation and market adoption.
For Ojo, the journey is still underway.
And the lesson that started with a four-day search for a vehicle remains central to the company’s mission: Africa does not necessarily need more vehicles. It needs better systems for connecting the vehicles, businesses and people already moving its goods.
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About truQ
truQ is a Nigerian logistics technology company focused on commercial transportation, logistics operations and tools for small-scale fleet operators. Its platform connects customers and businesses with commercial vehicles while providing trip management, delivery coordination, financing and other operational services.
The company says it is expanding its logistics infrastructure across Nigeria and has ambitions to operate across West Africa and the wider African continent.
About Foluso Ojo
Foluso Ojo is the CEO and Co-founder of truQ. She leads the company’s strategy and product direction, with a focus on digitising commercial logistics, improving operational efficiency for transporters and expanding access to financial tools for small-scale vehicle operators.
