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AppDate: MTN ramps up international transfers
In his latest app roundup, SEAN BACHER focuses on MTN Homeland, big growth in FNB’s eWallet spend, Nedbank’s Money App Lite, Afri Ride and iKhokha Vend.
Afri Ride
Afri Ride, a ride sharing mobile app with tailor-made solutions for the African traveling community, is now available in South Africa, and promises to expand into other African markets in the near future.
Users upload their travel details, such as the start and end location, travel date and the number of empty seats that are available in their vehicle. This then allows all those heading in the same direction to book seats on a ride that is already happening.
“The most wasted resources, from a vehicle capacity standpoint, are the empty seats in moving cars,” says the company’s MD, Joe Moyo. “The idea behind Afri Ride is to make use of existing resources by offering the unoccupied seats in your car, or offering your car for rental.”
Economic and other factors have made owning a car more of a challenge than ever before. With the average number of car repossessions ranging from 600 to 1,500 cars per month, it is easy to assume that car owners are battling to meet their financial obligations.
According to the Associations of Automobiles (AA), there are more people that need transport than there are rides. “So what better way than to provide a platform for the people who need the rides, basically a platform that safely connects travellers?”
Economic and other factors have made being a car owner more of a challenge than ever before – with the average number of car repossessions ranging from 600 to1,500 cars per month. It is easy to assume that car owners are battling to sufficiently meet all their financial obligations. In order to circumvent vehicle repossessions, Afri Ride in effect subsidises the expenses associated with car ownership. “A car parked in a garage is not only depreciating in value but also running up the owner’s bill by way of insurance”, says Moyo.
Safety of the entire Afri Ride community is of paramount importance, he says. As a result, Afri Ride has integrated a chat service (Mbira Chat) that allows users to communicate (live location, texting, voice call or video call), even before booking the seat or car. Afri Ride also protects its users’ money, by facilitating all payments through a 3D secure platform.
Platform: Android and iOS
Expect to pay: A free download
Stockists: For downloading instruction click here.
Read more about iKhokha Vend.
