N-Ways
Developer docsOverview

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Platform overview

Maps, addresses and routes made for Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde and The Gambia, for the apps that move people and parcels there: NIPOST postcodes, GhanaPost and Plus Codes, okada and keke routes, fares in naira, cedis, F CFA, Liberian dollars, Guinean francs, leones and escudos.

On this page
Note:

Sign up. Create your account in the partner console with your Google or Apple account or a work email, and get your key in a minute. Free usage every month. Questions: hello@nways.ng.

Four ways to use N-Ways: which is right for you

When you sign up, the console asks which of these fits and puts what you need first. Nothing is locked: every API and every console page stays open to you, and you can change your answer in Settings.

You areYou useStart with
A company with its own app, like a ride-hailing or delivery app, adding maps and routes to itThe APIs and SDKs: maps, geocoding, routes and arrival times, tracking; keys, usage and webhooksGet started
A company with no system of its own that wants N-Ways as its whole dispatch systemThe console’s Fleet: deliveries, the live map, your riders on the N-Ways Business app and N-Ways drivers. No codeOpen a dispatch console
A company that dispatches here and keeps its ERP (SAP, Odoo, Dynamics) in stepThe same console, plus webhooks for every event, the export and the fleet APIConnect your ERP
A tech or logistics company building its own product on our dispatch platformThe fleet API, webhooks, SDKs, test projects and the simulatorFleet tracking

Why N-Ways

N-Ways is a free navigation app built only for Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde and The Gambia. The same maps, search and routing are now open to your app, so your riders, drivers and customers get directions that fit these roads:

  • Addresses people really use. Nigeria’s NIPOST postcodes down to the building, GhanaPost GPS addresses, N-Ways home codes (by country), Plus Codes, landmarks, and street names in English and French.
  • Every way people travel. Car, okada, keke, danfo, walking, train and boat, with okada and keke bans kept to and a taxi or bus taking over where a ride can’t go.
  • What it should cost. Fair fares for taxis, okadas, kekes, buses and boats in naira, cedis, F CFA, Liberian dollars, Guinean francs, leones and escudos, from what riders paid.
  • A map its drivers keep right. Live traffic from phones on the road, potholes and closures confirmed by the drivers who pass next, and pins, entrances and one-ways corrected from their answers.

Products

ProductWhat it doesStatus
Maps SDK for the webAn interactive map in your web page, with N-Ways’ style and your key1.0
Maps SDK for Android, for iOSNative maps in your app, with the same client calls1.0, from source
Tiles APIVector tiles, fonts and hosted styles for your own mapsLive
Static mapsA map picture from a URL, for emails, receipts and order pagesLive
GeocodingAddress, postcode, GhanaPost or Plus Code to coordinates, and backLive
AutocompleteSuggestions as people type an addressLive
Address validationCheck and complete an address before you send a riderLive
PlacesBusinesses and places near a point, by category or nameLive
RoutesDirections for every way of travelling, with traffic, tolls, bans and bordersLive
Route matrixTimes and distances between many pickups and drop-offs at once, for dispatchLive
Route optimisationThe best order for a rider’s or a small fleet’s deliveriesLive
FaresWhat a taxi, okada, keke, bus or boat ride should costLive
Traffic, traffic feedLive road speeds and congestionLive
Fleet tracking, webhooksRiders’ live positions, delivery ETAs, tracking links for customers, events to your serverLive
Offline packsMaps and road data your riders’ apps download aheadLive

Where it works

Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde and The Gambia, including the roads and border crossings between them. Answers come in English or French (lang=fr), or Portuguese (lang=pt), and prices in each country’s money: naira (NGN), Ghana cedis (GHS), West African CFA francs (XOF), Central African CFA francs (XAF), Liberian dollars (LRD), Guinean francs (GNF), leones (SLE), Cape Verdean escudos (CVE) and dalasis (GMD).

Home codes

Every compound in these 12 countries has an N-Ways home code: the name of its quarter or village and a short number, like the ones below. The geocoding call takes them as typed, and each country’s guide covers lookups, codes at a point and offline decoding. The codes, the engine and a ready-made server are open on GitHub, so you can also host them yourself.

How it works

  1. Get a key. Sign up in the partner console with Google, Apple or email: name your company and your key is ready, with the steps to integrate it. Get started
  2. Restrict it. Lock the key to your website, your Android or iOS app, or your servers’ IP addresses, and to the APIs you use. API keys and security
  3. Call the APIs over HTTPS with key=YOUR_API_KEY, or show a map with the Maps SDK.
  4. Watch your usage per key and per API, and set your own caps. Quotas and limits
Your first request
curl "https://nways.ng/maps/v1/geocode?q=Allen+Avenue+Ikeja&limit=3&key=YOUR_API_KEY"
Get startedYour key, your first map and your first route. API keysRestrictions, rotation and keeping keys safe. Maps SDKAn N-Ways map in a web page. GeocodingPostcodes, GhanaPost and addresses. RoutesOkada, keke, car, boat and fares. Attribution and termsWhat your map must show.

Addresses and versions

The APIs answer at https://nways.ng/maps/v1/…. Version 1 only ever gains things (new endpoints, optional parameters, fields in answers); a breaking change would come as /maps/v2, with the old version kept for at least 12 months. They also answer on their own host, https://api.nways.ng/maps/v1/…. Partners who started with the earlier addresses (https://nways.ng/v1/…) can keep using them for at least 12 months. Versions and changes

Questions

Email hello@nways.ng with what you’re building. We answer in English.