info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
Image from TechCruch
In many countries in Africa, Motorcycle taxi as an important part of the transportation infrastructure of African countries, is widely used as public transport.
Four bike taxi firms are now battling it out on the streets of Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos and the oldest, Nigerian motorcycle taxi firm max.ng, is planning to launch in Ghana and Ivory Coast this year, as well as a fourth Nigerian city.
While informal motorcycle taxis have been around in Africa for years, the new companies are hoping to win market share by offering trained, accountable drivers and the convenience of booking rides through a mobile app.
As in Asia, the companies are also looking to turn their ride-hailing apps into one-stop mobile shops offering a host of services from e-payments to deliveries to insurance.
Max.ng co-founder Adetayo Bamiduro said the company started out as a motorbike delivery service in 2015 in Lagos and added an app for ride-hailing in 2017, as well as credit facilities for would-be drivers to lease new bikes and pay for them over time.
Africa offers huge potential for motorcycle ride-hailing firms due to low personal car ownership, rapidly expanding populations and a lack of efficient mass transport systems in fast-growing cities that are clogged with cars.
Known as okadas in Nigeria and Ghana and boda bodas in East Africa, informal motorbike taxis are part of the African transportation fabric. In Nigeria alone, there are an estimated 8 million okada drivers, according to max.ng and rival Gokada.
Nigeria has Africa's biggest economy and largest population while Ghana and Ivory Coast are two of the world's fastest growing economies, according to the International Monetary Fund.
While the motorbike taxi firms in West Africa are small now, investors hope some can replicate the success of the Asian ride-hailing unicorns.
Besides max.ng, the other three companies offering motorbike taxis in Lagos are Gokada, SafeBoda, which started out in the East African, and ORide.
