With Over 40k Taxis On board, 1-Year-Old Ivorian Mobility Startup Moja Ride, Partners O-City To Conquer West Africa

Moja Ride was barely founded last year, but the traction it is gaining is mind-blowing. The latest is that the mobility startup, based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s capital, has partnered with O-CITY following a series of investment rounds led by Orange Ventures and Toyota Tsusho Corporation (“Toyota Tsusho”) and its group business CFAO SAS. The partnership aims to fuel Moja’s digital innovation and future expansion plan in key West African markets.

Jean-Claude Gouesse, founder of Moja Ride
Jean-Claude Gouesse, founder, Moja Ride

“The public transportation industry worldwide is becoming less dependent on proprietary closed-loop payment solutions. Africa, with little legacy infrastructure to slow down progress, has the potential to leapfrog the rest of the world by harnessing the benefits of mobile technology and payments processing solutions to deliver a better and safer customer experience for commuters and transportation providers.” Gousse said, adding that O-CITY’s technology is the key to accelerating the delivery of a frictionless payment.

Here Is How The Partnership Will Work

  • Moja Ride has onboarded over 35,000 share-taxis (“Woro-Woro”) and 8,000 mini-buses (“Gbaka”) since its launch and has been rapidly gaining market share across multiple transport services in Abidjan. 
  • It does, however, aim to extend its services in other West African nations now that it has more cash on hand.
  • O-CITY is a service that allows public transportation drivers to take a variety of payment options from customers, including QR codes, NFC, and prepaid cards, in 130 cities across the world.
  • Moja Ride will therefore piggy-back on O-City wide network through the partnership. 

A Look At What Moja Ride Does

Founded in 2020 by Jean-Claude Gouesse, Moja Ride allows commuters to schedule and pay for trips online while also allowing independent transportation providers to manage their fleet, routes, and payment methods.

Read also:Kenya’s Ride-hailing Startup Little Cab Expands To Ethiopia As ‘Super App’

Mobile money or a network of agents are used to recharge the phone. As a result, for the first time, transport operators, owners, and drivers can track their revenue in real time and manage their fleet.

The mobility market is now challenging to maintain transparency in terms of price and operational management due to thousands of independent owners and a reliance on cash. Moja Ride wants to solve these obstacles with O-CITY.

Moja Ride West Africa Moja Ride West Africa

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning write