By Efe Onodjae

A UK-based Nigerian technology founder, Obazie Sunday Goodness, has launched Toviri, a smart travel-tech platform designed to address the growing challenges of fragmented and stressful travel planning faced by Africans at home and abroad.

Toviri, which has been in development since early 2025, was created to simplify how travellers plan, navigate and manage their journeys by bringing essential travel information into one structured, time-based system. The platform combines location planning, transport guidance, timing and safety context into a single itinerary, helping users move through unfamiliar environments with greater clarity and confidence.

Speaking on the launch, Obazie explained that many travellers currently rely on multiple disconnected applications for maps, transport, recommendations, safety tips and personal notes, often resulting in unrealistic schedules and uncertainty, particularly in unfamiliar locations.

“Travel planning today is fragmented. People jump between different apps and still end up unsure of where they should be at a particular time, how to get there, or what to do if something goes wrong. Toviri was built to solve that problem,” he said.

Unlike traditional travel apps that focus on specific parts of a trip such as flight bookings or destination discovery, Toviri is designed as a continuous journey system. It guides users on what to do next, how to move between locations and what support options are available, rather than simply listing places or recommendations.

The founder noted that while the platform has strong relevance for international travel, it is equally built for domestic and regional journeys. According to him, the same challenges around timing, transport and safety apply whether a traveller is moving from Lagos to Enugu or from London to Amsterdam.

Toviri is initially launching with a focus on Nigeria and the United Kingdom, allowing the team to ensure accuracy of transport insights, safety data and local context. However, Obazie said the long-term vision is to expand city by city and country by country, with a global outlook supported by local execution.

Currently, the platform is available through a waitlist, with early access being rolled out to selected users as the minimum viable product is tested and refined. The app is expected to be released publicly on both iOS and Android once the product reaches stability. While the base version will be free, premium features will be offered through a subscription model.

Obazie revealed that the idea for Toviri was inspired by his personal travel experiences, where carefully planned trips often became stressful due to transport delays, unrealistic schedules and lack of real-time guidance.

“There was a point where I realised that travel planning shouldn’t just be about inspiration or saving places on a map. It should be about structure, practicality and safety. That gap is what Toviri is addressing,” he said.

Beyond product development, Toviri is also exploring strategic partnerships across transport, technology and community-based organisations, particularly in Nigeria and the UK. However, the founder emphasised that the company’s current priority is building a reliable product and validating user demand before expanding collaborations.

On user trust and data protection, Obazie assured that privacy and transparency are central to the platform’s design.

“We are intentional about what data we collect and how it is used. Users remain in control, and the product is built through real feedback and continuous improvement, not hype,” he said.

As Africa’s travel and technology ecosystems continue to evolve, Toviri represents a growing wave of locally informed digital solutions aimed at solving everyday challenges, while remaining scalable for global use.