A few weeks ago, I bought a laptop in Nairobi for a friend working in Ndhiwa Sub-County, some 400 Km away in Homa Bay County. The immediate problem was a modern Kenyan dilemma: how to get the sensitive package there safely and on time.
In today’s offices, a lack of a computer often means a total work stoppage. This urgency made the timing crucial. Since it was a Friday, and my friend was off on Saturday, a Monday morning delivery seemed easily achievable.
I had two main choices. The first was to use one of the ubiquitous bus companies that travel the western Kenya route, taking parcels along with passengers. The second was to hire an established courier service, many of which also operate as security providers.
The normal bus option, with its set departure and arrival times, offered a semblance of predictability. However, there was a major catch: no door-to-door service. Collection requires a long wait in town as staff sort bags and boxes. Worse, safety is a gamble. Buses treat parcels as secondary to passengers; their terms often state that loss, theft, or damage is at the sender’s risk. Stories of parcels abandoned in the rain or snatched at stops are common.
The couriers, including firms like G4S, sounded better, promising door-to-door service. I chose one, arranging for a Monday morning drop-off, allowing a full weekend for transit.
Monday arrived. By noon, nothing. By 2 p.m., still waiting. I called the contact. The laptop, I was told, was still in Homa Bay town, only 50km from Ndhiwa. A whole weekend had passed, yet the package was stranded. It finally arrived around 5 p.m., but by then, my friend’s workday was effectively lost. My experience is not unique; a quick look online reveals a barrage of similar complaints against various courier services.
The Logistics Nightmare
Kenya’s delivery landscape is a chaotic blend of old and new. Traditional methods, like buses and the packed minibuses known as matatus, are cheap but slow and risky. Then there are courier firms which doubled up as security providers like Wells Fargo and G4S. They offer security but are often expensive and notoriously late, especially outside major cities. Delivery is further hampered by poor infrastructure, with deep potholes that turn some roads into obstacle courses. For last-mile delivery, the motorcycles, or boda bodas, are critical, making life easier for many, though their reliability and security standards vary.
This logistics nightmare is a key constraint on the anticipated e-commerce boom in Kenya. Small and medium businesses consistently struggle due to inefficiency in handling and last-mile delivery. A report from a few years ago estimated that the country loses billions annually to logistics woes: trucks idle in traffic, drivers make mistakes, and customers, weary of waiting, simply stop buying.
For a country that prides itself on being the “Silicon Savannah,” with its thriving tech hubs and startups, the failure to solve this basic physical movement problem has long been perplexing.
A New Approach from the “Silicon Savannah”
Then, I came across Pastel Blues, a new venture from a young Kenyan named Evans Kiarie Mwangi. What initially seemed like just another tech app quickly impressed me. Evans and his team are not outsiders; they are Kenyans who understand the local pains, the delays, the arbitrary costs, and the stress of not knowing “where is my stuff?”
Pastel Blues is an AI-powered logistics platform designed to smooth the delivery process. It begins with Smart Order Management, automatically integrating orders from e-commerce platforms like Jumia without manual data entry.
Next is AI Route Optimization. The system analyzes maps, traffic, weather, and past performance to select the smartest path, not just the shortest. This cuts down on fuel and time, reducing costs significantly. For a driver heading to Ndhiwa, the A.I. might recommend: “Skip the congested market; take the lakeside bypass.”
Tracking is live and precise, akin to watching a broadcast. GPS on the driver’s phone offers real-time location updates: “Left Nairobi,” “Entering Homa Bay.” Customers and drivers can communicate directly through the app, eliminating blind calls to customer service.
Evans emphasized that the technology is designed to solve a universal Kenyan problem. “Deliveries touch everyone here,” he said. “The mama mboga (vegetable seller) transporting to different markets, the teacher ordering books. We make it easy so they can focus on growing their business.”
Early results have been strong. Sciencelab LLC, a prominent investor, has integrated the platform into its operations for order fulfillment and management, reporting a 20 percent reduction in delivery costs and a notable improvement in overall profitability.
This success has attracted attention, with Pastel Blues recently securing $200,000 (Ksh. 25.8 million) in pre-seed funding. The investment is earmarked for further developing the A.I., expanding its market reach, and providing a definitive answer to the classic problem of getting a fragile package safely and swiftly across Kenya.
Conclusion
Here are a few points to remember. Pastel Blues is an AI-Powered logistics platform designed to help businesses manage their delivery networks. Its key features are focused on overcoming the exact pain points often experienced with traditional methods:
- Smart Order Management: Automated processing and routing integrated directly with major e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Squarespace.
- AI Route Optimization: Utilizing machine learning to analyze delivery patterns and recommend cost-reducing, intelligent routes.
- Real-Time Tracking: Providing live GPS tracking, delivery notifications, and customer communication tools to eliminate guesswork.
- Driver Management: Featuring a driver marketplace, performance analytics, and commission tracking.
- Advanced Features: Offering sophisticated tools such as vehicle capacity planning and priority-based routing.
