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Mogadishu gets its first motorcycle hailing app

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You can now hail a motorcycle service in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The Go! app launched in the Indian Ocean city today (May 1) promising affordable and convenient options in the city’s bustling transport sector. The e-hailing service is starting out with 20 motorcycles, allowing customers to order their rides online or hail them on the street after identifying the drivers with their yellow helmet and bikes.

Young entrepreneurs like Go! founder Deeq Mohamed says they want to capitalize on that, moving to bring order to the transit system and also create employment opportunities.

The idea for the app was in the works since last November but was finally implemented, Deeq adds, after his friend Najib almost missed his wedding in December. When the service was done, he told him, “maybe it’s time you start this moto-hailing service.”

The platform was launched by Gulivery, a delivery startup that provides third-party door-to-door services. The moto-taxi service makes the company the first in the Horn of Africa nation to venture into and digitize the motorcycle business. While Uber-style taxi apps like Waryaa Taxi and Dhaweeye have existed before, those firms only used cars.

The increase in digital transportation options comes as life in Mogadishu regains a semblance of normalcy after decades of war. That has led to increased traffic in the city. The city also has a fragmented transportation system, with three-wheeled motorized tuk-tuk and hundreds of dilapidated buses servicing a fast-growing population that currently stands at almost three million people.

Source QZ

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James Barnley

I’m the editor of the DomainingAfrica. I write about internet and social media, focusing mainly on Domains. As a subscriber to my newsletter, you’ll get a lot of information on Domain Issues, ICANN, new gtld’s, Mobile technology and social media.