Start-up targets logistics gaps to power East Africa’s e-commerce boom

East Africa's e-commerce sector has experienced explosive growth over the past five years, with online retail transactions projected to reach $6.5 billion by 2025. Yet this expansion has exposed a critical vulnerability: the region's fragmented and inefficient last-mile delivery infrastructure. Innovative logistics startups are now stepping into this void, creating compelling opportunities for European investors willing to navigate the complexities of emerging African markets. The challenge is substantial. While e-commerce platforms like Jumia and Kilimall have captured consumer attention across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, the physical infrastructure needed to reliably deliver goods remains underdeveloped. Poor road conditions, inconsistent regulatory frameworks, and the absence of unified tracking systems have created delays, increased costs, and damaged customer trust. Traditional courier services, often designed for business-to-business shipments, struggle to adapt to the high-volume, low-margin requirements of consumer e-commerce. This structural gap represents both a problem and an opportunity. Companies addressing these gaps are leveraging technology and localized expertise to build efficient networks. By integrating real-time tracking systems, optimizing routing algorithms, and establishing hub-and-spoke distribution models tailored to regional geography, these startups are reducing delivery times from weeks to days. More importantly, they're reducing operational costs by 30-40% compared to legacy logistics providers. For