The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has announced its adoption of the innovative global addressing system, what3words.
Nigeria is the seventh country to adopt the module globally and third in Africa. The system is already in use for mail delivery in Mongolia, Sint Maarten, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Tonga and Solomon Islands.
What3words has divided the world into 57 trillion and 3×3 metre square, each with a unique three-word address. The identities are memorable and easy to share via email, text or over the phone.
The what3words API is being integrated by businesses, apps and services across the world in a variety of sectors. It is also used by individuals via the free what3words app.
A document from the Ministry of Communications reveals that Nigeria’s current poor addressing system means that only 20 percent of her inhabitants receive mail at home. It revealed that 79 percent of homes and businesses cannot receive deliveries while the remaining one percent receives mails using one of the 478,000 post office boxes nationwide.
The Ministry explained that a postcode system does exist, adding that only five percent of mail get properly addressed, thus hampering the efforts of NIPOST to improve its service.
To this end, NIPOST aims to increase home delivery to 70 percent within the next two years and 90 percent by 2020 through the Mail for Every House Initiative (MEHI) and the adopted what3words.
With the new addressing system, it means that every home and business in Nigeria would have a simple, accurate and memorable address.
The document reads: “For example, ///bracelets.hesitations.mutes refers to the exact 3m x 3m square at the entrance to the main post office in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.”
