Kobo360’s CEO and Co-founder, Obi Ozor, has today been honoured as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader 2021. Through the Young Global Leader Program, Ozor will embark on a five-year leadership development journey that will help him reach the next level of impact, as he continues to build and scale his e-logistics company into a global brand.
The Forum of Young Global Leaders is an independent non-profit foundation bringing together diverse, dynamic, and globally representative leaders for a five-year, personalized leadership program. With 1,400 members and alumni representing over 120 nationalities, YGLs head governments and Fortune 500 companies, are recipients of Nobel Prizes and Academy Awards, and serve as UN Goodwill Ambassadors. With the purpose of creating a truly representative body, candidates are evaluated by a selection committee, which selects between 100 -150 new members each year out of thousands of publicly nominated candidates.
Launched in 2017, alongside Ozor’s co-founder Ife Oyedele II, Kobo360 is a global e-logistics technology platform that connects and advances cargo across Africa and beyond. With over seven years of logistics and supply chain experience, Ozor manages all key aspects of Kobo360 including operations, controlling investments, compliance risk management and product growth. He has also been focussed on creating mass-employment for Africa through job creation, with Kobo360 working with over 50,000 trucks and drivers across the continent. Prior to building Kobo360, Obi was the Operations Coordinator at Uber Nigeria as well as an Investment Banker at J.P. Morgan.
Speaking on the milestone, Obi Ozor, Co-founder & CEO of Kobo360 said: “I am thrilled to be joining the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders program. Being recognised by such a prestigious organisation gives me faith that the work we’re doing at Kobo360 is indeed making an impact, not just in Africa, but globally. Building Kobo360 from the ground up, and introducing a technology-enabled platform in a space that already had existing ways of doing things was not the easiest. We still have a long way to go, but we are in it for the long haul! At Kobo360, we have created an African Logistics industry where technology is at the forefront of business, and I am looking forward to collaborating with other Young Global Leaders across the world, in different sectors of business, to tackle global challenges.”
Backed by international and African investors including Goldman Sachs, Y Combinator, International Finance Corporation [IFC], Asia Africa Investment & Consulting and TLcom Capital, Kobo360 has raised over $35m and scaled across 7 countries on the continent. To date, the company’s tech-enabled platform has connected over 50,000 trucks and drivers, who have delivered 2.9 Billion tonnes of cargo to over 1,000 SMEs and large enterprises, such as DHL, Maersk, Unilever, Medlog, and OLAM.
“The YGL Class of 2021 is comprised of thoughtful and courageous leaders who will shape a more sustainable and inclusive post-pandemic era,” said Mariah Levin, Head of the Forum of Young Global Leaders.
A leader in the African logistics and technology ecosystem, Obi boasts several accolades including CNBC All Africa Business Leaders Awards 2019 ‘Innovator of the Year’ and ‘Young Business Leader of the Year’. Most recently, he was named as one of Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40 ‘Global Leaders in Technology for 2020’.
