Gricd, a Nigerian last-mile delivery company, uses cold storage technology to deliver 4.2 million COVID-19 vaccines

Gricd, a cold chain technology company that uses the Internet of Things to enable last mile delivery of temperature-sensitive products, has partnered with Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to distribute 4.2 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

This batch of Moderna vaccines was donated to the Nigerian government by USAID through the COVAX initiative and required storage temperatures ranging from -15 to -25 degrees Celsius. The NPHCDA was able to track the vaccines’ storage conditions and other relevant information from the National Strategic Cold Store in Abuja to their final destinations using Gricd’s MOTE, a data logger that transmits information about location, humidity, and temperature in real time.

The MOTE has an integrated GSM antenna for tracking its location and can run for up to 30 days on a single charge. With a mobile phone, it can be monitored and controlled from anywhere in the world. Alerts can also be sent to relevant parties via SMS, email, or push notification to inform them and advise on the best next step if the tracked product deviates from its intended route or exceeds the preset temperature range.

NPHCDA also had access to Gricd’s enterprise monitoring dashboard, which allowed it to track all of the devices in one place, ensuring that the vaccines arrived where and when they were supposed to. All vaccines were delivered safely, and no cases of ineffectiveness were reported.

“With 36 states and a landmass of more than 900,000 square kilometers to cover, the NPHDCA had its work cut out for it to ensure that the vaccines got to each state in the best condition,” said Oghenetega Iortim, CEO and co-founder of Gricd.

There is still much work to be done to protect Nigeria from COVID-19, but we are grateful to have been able to assist the government in ensuring that more Nigerians have access to critical vaccines. Many African countries face unique challenges that frequently limit access to vaccines and other life-saving medications, and we must continue to innovate to secure lives and livelihoods.”

High waste rates and inadequate vaccination coverage result from a lack of dependable cold storage and inefficient cold chain management. The World Health Organization estimates that more than half of all vaccines are thrown away each year due to temperature control, logistics, and shipment issues. This figure could be higher in Africa, where approximately 60% of the population lives in rural areas with limited infrastructure.

Gricd provides a variety of IoT-enabled solutions for temperature monitoring and data logging, particularly during the storage, transit, and distribution of temperature-sensitive products such as vaccines, insulin, and food. Gricd makes it easier to ensure the safety and security of products and assets by enabling automated, real-time monitoring.

The startup already collaborates with some of Nigeria’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturers and food companies to monitor the quality of food and pharmaceuticals and provide actionable data to reduce avoidable losses.

Gricd has worked with various organizations to save over $193 million and successfully monitor over 12 million temperature-sensitive items.