Why I Started AfriBird
A Story of Pain, Frustration, and Hope
I never set out to build a shipping company. Like many Nigerians who shop from U.S. stores, I wanted access. Access to things I couldn't find in local markets, access to better quality products, and access to gifts I could send to loved ones. I wanted to buy, wait a few weeks or even days, and get my packages delivered without headaches. Simple.
But simple quickly became complicated.
In 2019, I discovered Heroshe, and I started shipping with them in 2020. At the time, it felt like a lifesaver. Nigerians needed a bridge between U.S. stores and our doorsteps, and Heroshe provided that bridge. I began shipping with them regularly, and for a while, it worked. The packages arrived, the costs were manageable, and I established a routine around it.
However, things began to change slowly.
By late 2024, shipments had slowed. Customer updates grew vague. Communication started slipping. And then came 2025. For me, everything broke in February of this year, 2025. I sent several shipments that month. To this day (September 2025), those items that are worth thousands of dollars are still stuck in the U.S. They have not moved. They have not been delivered.
I cannot describe the feeling of tracking a package every day for months, only to see the same "Processed" and "Packed" statuses. It's like waiting for a bus that never arrives. I'd message support, hoping for answers, and sometimes I'd get silence for weeks. Other times, I'd receive vague reassurances that "things were being worked on." Meanwhile, my money, my items, and my trust were all trapped in limbo.
And I wasn't alone. Thousands of Nigerians who had trusted Heroshe were now stranded with stuck packages and unanswered questions. People had items they urgently needed: laptops for work, gifts for weddings, clothes for events, medical supplies, and tools for their businesses. All of it stuck. Some for seven months. Some for longer.
It was more than just an inconvenience. It was betrayal.
Searching for Alternatives
I decided to look elsewhere. Surely there had to be other options.
But every alternative I tried left me disappointed in a new way.
Some had websites that looked like they hadn't been updated in years, clunky, confusing, and frustrating to navigate. Others wouldn't let me properly track my packages. I would ship something and then, like magic, it disappeared into a void. No updates. No visibility. No confidence.
Some services couldn't even process payments smoothly. Imagine trying to give your money to a company and they make it so difficult that you second-guess whether they want your business at all. And then there was customer service. I would send emails. No response. I would send messages on social media. Days passed. Then weeks. Sometimes months. And still no reply.
The same cycle repeated everywhere: unreliability, lack of transparency, and broken trust.
The Breaking Point
One day, as I stared at yet another stuck package update, I realized something: this problem wasn't going away. Nigerians had been failed by companies that either could not or would not deliver. And as long as nobody solved it, the pain would continue.
That's when AfriBird was born.
AfriBird wasn't born out of ambition to start "a business." It was born out of raw pain. Out of months of staring at useless tracking updates. Out of hundreds of unanswered emails. Out of money tied up in shipments that never arrived. Out of watching friends and fellow customers complain in frustration with no alternative in sight.
AfriBird is my response to betrayal.
What AfriBird Does Differently
AfriBird is simple at its core:
A U.S. warehouse address you can trust. No gimmicks. You shop from your favorite U.S. stores and ship to your AfriBird warehouse address.
Consolidation that saves money. Instead of paying outrageous fees for each package, AfriBird lets you combine them and ship as one.
Customs handled up front. Nigerians are tired of surprise fees at delivery. AfriBird calculates customs before you ship, so you know exactly what you'll pay.
Real support. If you message AfriBird, you get a reply. Not weeks later. Not months later. You get a reply when you need it.
Why This Matters
AfriBird isn't just another shipping company. It's a chance to rebuild trust in an industry where trust has been shattered.
I know what it feels like to lose money to delays. To wait months for items that never arrive. To message companies and feel like you're talking into a void. AfriBird is built from that pain and built to ensure no one else has to feel it.
We're not perfect, and this is still just the beginning. But what makes AfriBird different is the foundation: we are building for real people, solving a real problem, with empathy and transparency at the core.
Looking Forward
I dream of a Nigeria, and Africa in general, where buying from U.S. stores isn't a gamble. Where you can confidently order, ship, and receive without sleepless nights, without checking your dashboard 20 times a day, without worrying if your package will vanish.
AfriBird is one step toward that dream.
We're in Beta now, and I know trust will take time. But if you've ever been burned by Heroshe or struggled with any other shipping company, I invite you to give AfriBird a chance or schedule a time with me here. I'll even personally guide you through your first shipment to make sure it's smooth. You'll also get 10% off your first shipment, because trying something new should feel safe and rewarding.
This is the beginning of something I believe will change how Nigerians ship forever. It started with my pain, but it won't end there. AfriBird is for every Nigerian (and soon, Africans) who just wants to shop and ship without fear.