How three Ivorian entrepreneurs built TaxiJet, the Uber of Francophone Africa

In 2011, Parfait Ouattara witnessed a revolution in the transportation industry in the United States as Uber took the world by storm. He decided to replicate the same idea in his home country and he founded TaxiJet.

Parfait Ouattara began developing the app with his two other brothers– Issa Sidibé and Pete Angel, as co-founders. In 2015, they launched TaxiJet modeled around Uber but with some variations to ensure subscribers benefit more.

In other words, local taxis on TaxiJet continue to be able to pick up their own clients in addition to clients who have contacted TaxiJet through the app. Market Frontiers claims that by 2017, the taxi startup had amassed over 10,000 customers and had over 100 daily bookings.

Also, drivers who sign up for the platform receive a smartphone with the app pre-installed and are able to begin working for TaxiJet right away. Drivers pay the company a 10% commission on each fare and keep the remaining 90%.

Using the growing popularity of cellphones in his home nation, Ouattara, who acts as the startup’s CEO, claims that he and his team were driven by a desire to give passengers a safer, more dependable transportation experience.

“People were not feeling secure using a taxi. Most of the time, [customers] can be waiting 15-30 mins, one hour because you don’t have a taxi,” he told CNN. “We created TaxiJet to help the drivers know exactly where the customers are, and for the customers to know where the driver is.”

TaxiJet also trains its drivers how to conduct themselves properly, including how to obey traffic regulations and show consideration for both customers and their surroundings. Making the ride-hailing service more enticing to investors as well as customers is the plan.

“We are helping [drivers] to increase their revenue and reduce the amount of time they are empty. It’s a very different business model [than Uber or Lyft], so we are not controversial,” said Sidibe in an interview with the BBC.

According to France24, there were approximately 2 million people living in Abidjan in 2015 when Taxijet began operations, with 12,000 taxis serving 300,000 passengers each day. To fill the void, Taxijet was introduced.

In a 2017 interview, Ouattara stated that TaxiJet intended to grow to neighboring nations in West Africa, including America and Europe, as well as acquire 10% of the market share in Cote d’Ivoire by 2022.

The goal of Ouattara and his team is to create the Uber of Francophone Africa. In Abidjan, Taxijet was actually the first app of its kind when it was released.