GIGM is trying to be the 'Everything App' for travel, and I have thoughts

I remember the first time I booked a GIGM trip on my phone years ago. It felt like magic because, back then, the standard "user interface" for interstate travel in Nigeria was standing in a crowded park in Maza Maza or Jibowu, arguing with touts while clutching your bags.

Fast forward to their 2026 Product Conference in Lagos, and GIGM is making it clear they don’t want to be called a "bus company" anymore. They’re pivoting to a unified travel platform. Buses, flights, vehicle hire, hotels—the whole nine yards. As someone who builds products, my first thought isn't about the "strategy"; it’s about the massive engineering headache of syncing all those moving parts.

The Super-App UX Nightmare

Building a "Super-app" sounds sexy in a slide deck, but it’s a nightmare to execute. I’ve seen so many local apps try to do everything and end up doing nothing well. You open the app to just book a simple bus to see your folks in Owerri, and suddenly you’re pelted with pop-ups for travel insurance, car rentals in Abuja, and tour packages for Obudu.

The challenge for the GIGM dev team is going to be keeping the "HireX" marketplace and the flight bookings from feeling like a cluttered mess. If I’m in a rush at a bus park, I don’t want to navigate a maze. I want the "buy" button to work, and I want the ticket to reflect in the system immediately so the guy at the terminal doesn’t tell me, "Oga, we never see your booking."

HireX and the "Sapa" Reality

The new HireX feature—letting people hire luxury cars without owning them—is an interesting play. It’s very Nigerian. We love the "Big Boy" image even when the bank account is screaming. But beyond the flex, it solves a real problem for founders and consultants. If I’m flying into Port Harcourt for a meeting, I don’t want to jump into a random yellow taxi. I want something clean and professional.

From a technical standpoint, managing a marketplace for high-end assets in Nigeria is tough. You’re dealing with real-time GPS tracking, insurance APIs, and verification systems that actually need to work in areas where the network might decide to go on strike.

The EV Ambition vs. The Grid

The announcement about deploying Electric Vehicles (EVs) is the one that really made me sit up. I love the "No gree for anybody" energy GIGM is bringing to the climate conversation, but man, the infrastructure is a giant question mark.

I’ve spent nights in Gbagada coding by candlelight because the national grid decided to take a nap. If we can’t keep the lights on in a tech hub, how are we going to keep a fleet of passenger buses charged on the long stretch of the Benin-Ore road? Okhae mentioned a nationwide charging infrastructure, which is a massive undertaking. It’s not just about the cars; it’s about the power tech behind it.

If they pull this off, it won’t just be a win for GIGM; it’ll be a blueprint for how we handle sustainable tech in an environment that isn't exactly "green-friendly" yet.

Final Thoughts from the Trenches

I’m cautiously optimistic. It’s easy to be cynical about "innovation" in Nigeria because we’ve been burnt by big promises before. But GIGM has a track record of actually shipping things.

They’re moving from selling seats to selling "experiences." As a developer, I just hope those experiences don't come with 404 errors and API timeouts. Moving people from Lagos to Benin is hard. Moving their data, their flights, and their car rentals across one unified dashboard is even harder.

I'll be watching the next update closely. If they can make the app as smooth as the air conditioning in their Prime buses, they might actually change the game. Now, back to my own bugs. Happy building.