For Nigerians abroad, sending money home is easy, but getting a document collected, a property checked, or a surprise gift delivered is not so easy. Jakada, a Lagos-based startup, is building
For Nigerians abroad, sending money home is easy, but getting a document collected, a property checked, or a surprise gift delivered is not so easy. Jakada, a Lagos-based startup, is building a service to plug that gap.
The platform connects Nigerians in the diaspora with vetted taskers on the ground in Lagos who carry out physical errands on their behalf, sending photo and video updates as the job progresses. Clients book online, are matched with a tasker within the hour, and pay in advance through Stripe, with funds held in escrow until the task is confirmed complete, according to the company.
Jakada currently offers three categories of tasks: General errands such as bill payments, queuing and document collection, from $15; property and site checks, which include a video walkthrough and condition report, from $35; and surprise delivery and gifting, from $18. A car rental option, including vetted airport pickups, starts from $50. All updates run through WhatsApp, and no app is required.
Taskers go through an application process that includes National Identification Number (NIN) verification, proof of address and an in-person onboarding session before they can accept jobs. The company describes this as central to its pitch: that clients thousands of miles away can delegate a task and still trust how it was carried out.
Jakada is structured across two countries. Company records on LinkedIn show Jakada Services Ltd is registered in London, where co-founder Seun Abimbola oversees the platform’s diaspora-facing strategy, according to his LinkedIn profile, which lists the role as starting in May 2026. Operations, including the tasker network, run out of Lagos, with coverage currently concentrated in Lagos Island, Victoria Island, Lekki and Ikoyi.
The company is entering a market that already has several players solving the same problem. Helpmewaka runs errands for the diaspora across Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon, while Taskeeu operates across Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Reyvah covers Lagos, Calabar, Ibadan and Abeokuta. Jakada’s differentiation, according to its marketing, is its emphasis on documented proof: photos, videos and timestamped updates at every stage of a task, rather than a simple confirmation message.
The broader trend behind these platforms is Nigeria’s ongoing wave of emigration, popularly called “Japa,” which has left many middle-class families abroad still responsible for ageing parents, unfinished property projects and paperwork back home. Startups like Jakada are betting that Nigerians abroad will pay for verified, documented proof that a task was actually done, not just a text saying it was handled.
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