27th July 2018 birthed the ecoride app; an app developed to ease access of taxis, and affordable taxis for that matter. The innovation made waves in September at Blantyre’s regional street carnival, where ecoride had a stall to inform people about its services. Following up on the newly established corporate, Bizmalawi checks on the Chief executive officer.
“Since the launch, we have had mostly positive reviews from the general public” says Pilirani Namalomba, citing reviews from Blantyre and Lilongwe.
The simplicity of the app is remarkable, especially the taxis themselves, having the ecoride brand. However, it has been noted that non branded taxis are now participating on the app. The CEO sheds more light on the matter. “The innovation is the app, not the taxis” he explains, “any suitable vehicle can apply and be registered under ecoride. The branded vehicles are what we used to bring awareness to the app; at the end of the day, it’s about the app”.
Commenting on further ecoride developments, Namalomba reveals the plan to further the app to iOS. “As of late, the app is available only on android; we are working on being available on iOS” Bizmalawi also learns about ecorides plan to further its services beyond Blantyre and Lilongwe. “We are aiming for Salima, Mangochi, Mzuzu and many more; ecoride is planning to be all over Malawi”
However, the accomplishment of the dream to be available all over Malawi, is dependent on quality network of local service providers, namely Airtel and TNM. “That is an area we are struggling with as an app; our ability to deliver depends on quality network reception”. Expressing major concern, he adds “I personally can’t commend which network that the app best works on, since that would mean I am imposing a particular network on a customer.”
Overall, the CEO is positive about the future of ecoride, noting that more taxis are registering under the app. Ecoride is the first service of its kind in Malawi, being developed and tested more than 10 months before its launch, and has been hailed for its convenience, charging K350 per Kilometre.