I read a few days ago, the call of FRSC for complete elimination of motorbikes on the streets. I do understand and sympathise with their reasons but it’s a long shot. Motorbikes, however dangerous they are, have become a critical part of our lives. The question for me is how we can make them safer, more reliable and more efficient.
Uber for bikes seems like a solution to this problem. How will it work?
- Individuals buy bikes which they register on the platform
- Bikes and riders are verified for compliance
- Riders are checked and trained properly
- Bikers have uniforms, wear helmets, and hold helmets for their passengers
- Passengers book for riders with the app and they’re picked up and dropped at their destinations.
Many will benefit from this. Just think about the number of people who want to dash out of the office on the island during peak hours but dread taking a bike. With the safety and confidence this gives, they will happily ride.
What do you think?
I am the author of Scaling for Success: Empowering African SMEs. I am a Partner at Sahel Capital, a food and agriculture-focused private investment firm in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sahel Capital manages the Fund for Agriculture Financing in Nigeria (FAFIN) and the Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA).
I co-lead SEFAA, an impact-first fund investing in agribusinesses that provide direct or indirect benefits to smallholder farmers across 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. I also lead investments and portfolio management for SEFAA and manage FAFIN portfolios, two of which were recently exited. I am a director on the board of one of the portfolio companies and serve in advisory roles for several startups and SMEs.