The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has selected Swoop, a Nigerian on-demand delivery platform, as one of only two food delivery services approved to operate under a new campus programme designed to strengthen student safety, security, and rider accountability while preserving access to convenient, affordable food delivery.

Founded in 1962, the University of Lagos is one of Nigeria's leading public universities, and its Akoka campus is home to a large student community for whom food delivery has become a daily convenience.

The three-month pilot introduces a more controlled approach to on-campus food delivery, responding to concerns about the growing number of unregistered delivery riders entering the university and the implications for security, student welfare, and campus orderliness.

Under the new system, food delivery access will be limited to a pool of registered, identifiable riders operating through the university's approved platforms. Riders outside this pool will no longer be able to complete deliveries within the campus. In practical terms, that means everyone completing a commercial delivery on the Akoka campus can be traced to an approved platform — the accountability layer the programme is built around.

As part of the partnership, Swoop will work closely with the university's security unit to ensure that participating riders are registered, identifiable, and accountable. The company will also collaborate with the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs, which oversees student welfare, to keep student interests central to the programme.

“We are pleased to have been selected by UNILAG as one of the two platforms supporting this important programme,” said Demola Adesina, Country Manager for Swoop and a UNILAG alum himself. “The university has been very clear that student safety and security are the priority, and we share that responsibility. Having studied at UNILAG myself, I'm deeply invested in creating a solution that makes our campus safer and more convenient. Our focus is to ensure that every Swoop rider operating on campus is properly registered, identifiable and accountable, while giving students continued access to convenient and affordable food delivery.”

The pilot reflects UNILAG's effort to balance two important needs: maintaining a safe and orderly campus while recognising that food delivery has become an important convenience for many students. For the university, the programme is a test of whether access controls can address the security concerns without taking away a service students rely on day to day.

Beyond security and rider accountability, the partnership is also designed to give students a more transparent delivery experience. Through Swoop, customers can see applicable delivery and service charges before confirming an order and can track their order in real time from the restaurant to its destination.

Swoop's operating model is designed to create value across the delivery ecosystem. Riders retain 100 per cent of their delivery fees, while merchants benefit from lower platform fees that allow them to keep more of the value from each order. Restaurants can also reach customers beyond their immediate locations through the platform.

For Swoop, being selected for the UNILAG programme is an opportunity to demonstrate how technology and responsible delivery operations can work together to make food delivery safer and more accountable without sacrificing the convenience students value.

“Safety and convenience should go hand in hand,” Adesina added. “This pilot allows us to demonstrate that food delivery can be convenient and affordable while still meeting the high standards of accountability expected within a university community. We the responsibility that comes with being an approved platform and are committed to working closely with UNILAG throughout the programme.”

The partnership also reflects Swoop's broader ambition to make on-demand delivery more accessible to more Nigerians. The company believes that growing the market requires addressing not only affordability and pricing transparency, but also the trust and accountability that consumers and institutions expect from delivery platforms.

The three-month pilot will provide a framework for assessing how a managed food delivery system can strengthen campus security while preserving students' access to convenient and affordable food delivery. The defined window gives the university a structured period to evaluate the registered-rider model against those twin goals of security and convenience.