Building for Trust, Scale, and Inclusion: Lessons from Fez Delivery’s Journey

In a country where failed deliveries, fuel price spikes, and fractured infrastructure are daily realities, building a logistics company takes more than grit - it takes vision, discipline, and strategic creativity. Seun Alley, CEO & Co-Founder of Fez Delivery Co, is doing just that. Beyond parcels, she's delivering trust, inclusion, and smarter infrastructure in one of Africa’s toughest operating environments.

Under Seun’s leadership, Fez has grown from just being a courier service into a nationwide logistics platform, embracing sustainable models like EVs and Safe Lockers while staying laser-focused on commercial viability and customer trust. In this month’s Founder’s Spotlight, we unpack her most critical mindset shifts, the unseen hurdles in last-mile delivery, and her advice for other African founders building for real-world scale.

Here are four lessons that you should pay close attention to as a business owner:

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Lesson 1: Build systems

Seun shares the five core mindset shifts that helped Fez Delivery scale sustainably:

• From hustling to building systems: We moved from just getting things done to building proper tech, processes, and teams that could scale sustainably.
• From just doing to tracking what matters: Instead of staying busy for the sake of it, we started measuring SLA, delivery speed, rider performance - because what gets measured improves.
• From chasing growth to growing sustainably: Volume without strong unit economics is a trap. We focused on pricing right, delivering consistently, and protecting our margins.
• From doing it all ourselves to building with others: Real scale came when we embraced partnerships - with 3PLs, fintechs, estates, and locker hosts. We stopped trying to own everything and started building a network.
• From a delivery company to a logistics platform: Fez isn't just moving packages anymore - we're building infrastructure. That shift opened doors to Safe Lockers, SaaS, and warehousing.

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Lesson 2: Tackle the Invisible Frictions

Despite their scale, Seun notes that last-mile logistics still battles overlooked pain points - from failed deliveries due to customer unavailability to the chaos of unstructured rider networks. 

Speaking to the overlooked challenges in last-mile delivery which her business is most focused on solving today, she said: 

• Failed deliveries due to customer unavailability: Riders showing up isn’t the finish line - many deliveries still fail because customers aren’t available. A product feature - Safe Lockers help solve this with 24/7 access, but we are still scaling.
• Lack of real-time visibility and accountability: Without live tracking, too much gets lost in transit - literally and operationally. We consistently optimize our tech to ensure every scan, delay and handoff is fully traceable.
• Unstructured rider networks: Riders can be unpredictable - missed SLAs, platform hopping, or poor handoffs. The team is tightening structures with better tools, monitoring, and incentives, but it’s a long game.
• Scaling without losing local context: Nigeria isn’t one-size-fits-all. What works in Lagos might break in Kano. We are being intentional about adapting per location, whilst ensuring consistent service delivery.

But Fez isn’t backing down, instead, the team tackles this friction by doubling down on Safe Lockers, real-time visibility, and location-specific operations.

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Lesson 3: Sustainable = Smart: EVs and Lockers Aren’t Only ‘Green’ Choices

Fez’s pivot to electric vehicles and Safe Lockers isn’t just about climate - it’s a bet on smarter economics. With fuel price volatility in Nigeria and the cost of repeated delivery attempts, sustainability has become a business imperative. The decision to invest in sustainable models like EVs and Safe Lockers were driven by two things: cost and efficiency. 

“Sustainability is important, yes - but I’m also building a business that needs to make sense long-term. EVs and Safe Lockers weren’t only “green” decisions - they were smart operational bets.”

With EVs, Fez’s goal is to reduce fuel dependency and operating costs. The margins in last-mile logistics are already tight, and fuel price volatility in Nigeria is a real threat. 

“EVs are still a small percentage of our fleet today, but we’ve started piloting them in controlled areas like Lagos and Abuja where charging logistics are easier. We're not scaling fast yet, but we’re learning what works. Safe Lockers, on the other hand, are a game changer. Failed deliveries cost time and money - multiple attempts, customer complaints, wasted trips. Lockers give us delivery certainty. They reduce re-attempts, eliminate delivery timing conflicts, and allow us to consolidate drops. That’s a win for operations, riders, and customers.”

These models also scale better. Once a locker is in place, it serves thousands of deliveries with minimal variable cost. And as more estates and businesses adopt them, Fez gains both efficiency and trust.

“We’re still early in this journey. The infrastructure isn’t perfect, and there’s a lot to build. But we’re clear-eyed about it: this is how we deliver faster, cheaper, and smarter - while building for the future.”

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Lesson 4: Staying Resilient in a Tough Funding Climate

What kept Fez standing? Clarity, customer focus, and operational discipline.

Seun highlights the importance of grounding product decisions in real cost-return logic - and staying anchored in solving local problems that matter.

“For us, resilience has come from facing reality early. We didn’t wait for funding to force discipline - we built with unit economics in mind from the start. Every expansion, every product decision, we’ve asked: “Can this pay for itself?” That mindset has kept us lean, focused, and clear on what really moves the needle.”

She also shared more about how her team has stayed impact-driven by solving real, local problems -  missed deliveries, unserved locations, card distribution for banks, logistics for women-led SMEs. 

“We’re not chasing shiny ideas; we’re building infrastructure that people actually need. That’s what gives the work meaning, and frankly, that’s what keeps customers paying.”

In solving local problems that matter, strategic partnership also takes precedence. 

“We’ve also learned to partner smart - whether it’s with estates for Safe Locker access or 3PLs to extend reach without blowing up costs. It’s allowed us to stay agile and grow without relying heavily on external capital.”

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Advice for Founders Building Infrastructure for Scale and Inclusion in Africa

Seun leaves fellow founders with five powerful insights:

1. Start with real problems, not pitch decks. Infrastructure that works in Africa has to be rooted in the day-to-day realities of the people you’re building for. If it doesn’t solve a pain point at scale, it won’t last - no matter how great the tech looks.
2. Don’t try to own everything. Focus on orchestration, not ownership. Build the core, then partner aggressively. Scale in Africa isn’t linear - it’s about who you can plug into and how fast you can adapt.
3. Design for friction. Assume the worst - power outages, limited internet, informal systems - and build with that in mind. Simplicity wins here. If your product can’t survive offline or without constant support, it won’t scale.
4. Make inclusion a function, not a campaign. Inclusion isn’t about saying the right things - it’s about building things that work for people who are usually left out. At Fez, our best growth has come from solving logistics for underserved SMEs and hard-to-reach communities. That’s inclusion by design.
5. Finally, be financially honest. You can’t serve people at scale if you run out of money. Build a model that funds itself or at least gets stronger with every transaction. Impact and sustainability are not opposites – they need each other.

As Africa’s cities swell and commerce continues its shift online, logistics isn’t just a service - it's the infrastructure of inclusion and scale. Fez Delivery is showing what it takes to build that infrastructure in a way that’s both commercially viable and socially meaningful. For founders tackling similarly complex problems, Seun’s journey is a timely reminder: real impact lives at the intersection of operational discipline, local understanding, and bold, iterative innovation. 

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About Seun Alley

Seun Alley is the CEO and co-founder at Fez Delivery Co - a last-mile delivery technology platform in Nigeria. Prior to Fez Delivery Co, Seun spent more than a decade at Fidelity and First Bank. She was the Director of Operations, and Director of Government Relations and Partnerships at Nigeria’s Unicorn, OPay. She was also Chief Operating Officer at Bloc, a Fintech Infrastructure company.

Seun started Fez Delivery out of personal experience in 2018. Today, Fez Delivery helps the likes of Kuda, OPay, Flutterwave, MoniePoint, Dang, Sterling Bank, Wema Bank, Guinness Nigeria, Red Bull, Mo Organics and many more fulfill their last-mile delivery promises to their customers.

Fez Delivery is backed by Ventures Platform, Google, Techstars and other leading African VCs.