MVX: The New Face of Convenient Trade in Africa

MVX
2 min readJun 1, 2021

In Africa, businesses pay 40% more and take over 1 month longer to move and manage international freight transactions. Freight transactions are managed OFFLINE. So we’re changing the game — by aggregating and organizing all freight and trade services through 1 digital channel, all while delivering seamless and personalized experiences. Move freight, get financed and trade all around the world — all at your convenience.

By eliminating weak linkages, we can deliver shipments faster and transparently. Because every business should be able to afford exceptional and coordinated freight experiences.

How we started

The spring of 2015, our founder Tonye Membere-Otaji — after a failed tech startup — joined a maritime logistics company. Few months into his new role, he got the idea for MVcharter, an “Uber for Ships”; it failed to launch!

In 2019, he and CTO Tobi Amusan built the second version of MVcharter, a platform matching ships with charterers in West Africa’s offshore oil and gas ecosystem. That platform became MVXchange.

Somewhere in the middle

COVID-19 pandemic + global lockdowns and a new product launch (MVXtransit) led to a pivot in 2020.

MVX today

Today, we are simply MVX. A platform that makes freight shipping accessible and convenient for companies of any size by bringing the whole booking and deployment process online. As a result, we are accelerating trade in Africa with technology. Headquartered in Africa, we offer import, export, land haulage and customs brokerage in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana.

  • Export from 6 African countries to anywhere in the world
  • End-to-end import from anywhere in the world to Africa (Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana)
  • Embedded trade finance for SMEs (Nigeria only)
  • 200+ onboarded enterprises

Where we’re going

What began as a journey to connect local shipowners in West Africa to businesses that needed offshore ships has evolved into a digital tool that empowers businesses to coordinate, organize and scale their import+export trade transactions.

We’re building digital pipelines to connect Africa to global trade. To achieve this, we’re working with world-class partners and employees — MVXers to create truly remarkable experiences — ones that transcend logistics/supply chain and enrich the lives of our customers and communities. And we’re employing technology to keep processes efficient and cost lower as we bring MVX to more countries across Africa to accelerate trade.

The seas might be rough, but we’re sailing with the best community of partners, employees, and customers. Join us and enjoy trade at your fingertips.

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MVX

MVX is a tech-powered end-to-end trade company, financing transactions and handling shipments for SMEs around Africa.