Refyul, a Lagos-based energy logistics startup, has announced the completion of its pre-launch infrastructure for a WhatsApp-native on-demand fuel delivery platform designed to streamline access to petrol (PMS), diesel (AGO), and cooking gas (LPG) across Lagos.
The service is built to operate entirely through WhatsApp, allowing customers to place fuel orders without downloading a dedicated app. According to the company, the platform is structured to deliver fuel at verified station prices by routing orders directly to partner filling stations with confirmed stock availability, aiming to reduce both supply uncertainty and price distortions during periods of scarcity.
The startup is positioning itself within one of Nigeria’s most persistent and visible infrastructure challenges: fuel scarcity cycles in Lagos, where supply disruptions are often compounded by fragmented distribution, lack of real-time inventory visibility, and rapid emergence of informal black-market pricing.
When scarcity events occur, Lagos residents frequently face long queues, inconsistent station availability, and significant price inflation in informal markets. The issue extends beyond access to fuel itself, affecting transportation, household energy use, and small business operations reliant on generators and cooking gas.
Refyul argues that a key driver of this inefficiency is not only physical scarcity, but an information gap. Stations often operate without centralized visibility into real-time stock levels, forcing consumers to travel across multiple locations in search of availability, consuming time, money, and fuel in the process.
The company’s system is designed to address this by aggregating live inventory data from participating stations and routing customer requests to the nearest verified location with available stock. Once an order is placed via WhatsApp, the platform coordinates fulfillment through partner stations and dispatches riders for last-mile delivery, with customers paying the regulated pump price rather than scarcity-adjusted markups.
At the core of the platform is an AI-powered WhatsApp ordering system built to manage order intake, station matching, logistics coordination, and payment processing. The system integrates logistics mapping tools, payment infrastructure, and backend data systems to automate the end-to-end ordering process. A secondary support layer handles customer service escalation cases outside automated workflows.
Co-founder and Technical Lead, Isong Prince Samuel, described the problem as a recurring urban reality rather than an isolated crisis.
“It wasn’t dramatic. It was just Tuesday in Lagos,” he said, referring to the recurring disruptions in fuel access that informed the idea behind Refyul.
His co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Ajayi Joshua, highlighted similar lived experiences, particularly around cooking gas scarcity and household energy disruption, which often disproportionately affects families and small businesses.
The two founders met during the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program in Lagos, where shared frustrations around energy access evolved into the foundation of the startup.
Refyul is also making a strategic bet on user behavior in Nigeria’s digital ecosystem, particularly the dominance of WhatsApp as a primary communication tool. Instead of requiring users to adopt a new application, the platform is built entirely around WhatsApp-based interactions, aligning with existing user habits and lowering adoption friction.
Nigeria’s downstream fuel market is estimated at over $10 billion annually, with Lagos representing a significant share of consumption due to its population density and commercial activity. Despite this scale, fuel distribution remains highly fragmented, with limited visibility into station-level stock and no widespread last-mile delivery infrastructure for households and small businesses.
Refyul enters this landscape with a model that combines station partnerships, rider networks, and automated dispatch systems aimed at improving transparency and reducing inefficiencies in fuel access.
The company says its infrastructure is already in place ahead of commercial rollout, including station partnerships and rider onboarding. It is now preparing to begin full-scale operations in Lagos in the coming weeks.
Refyul is also seeking early-stage funding and strategic partnerships to support expansion and operational scaling across additional urban markets.
About Refyul
Refyul is a Lagos-based energy logistics startup providing on-demand delivery of petrol (PMS), diesel (AGO), and cooking gas (LPG) through WhatsApp. The company is focused on improving fuel accessibility by connecting customers to verified station inventory and enabling last-mile delivery at regulated prices.
Media Contact
Isong Prince Samuel
Co-Founder & Technical Lead, Refyul
www.refyul.org
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