Small businesses seem to have the potential of solving this conundrum, considering the preambles of our own National Development plan.
For this reason, among others, Business partners Joel Lebethe and Thapelo Muparutsa have created a mobile application that will disrupt the transport industry; the revolutionary invention called DriveBi.
DriveBi is a digital ride sharing platform that links people who are departing from more or less the same radius travelling to or in the same direction.
The diligent businessmen went a step further to start integrating an entrepreneur propeller function.
This innovative function will remove the barriers preventing the informal sector from effectively participating in the formal economy. Furthermore, it will aim to address various value chains contributing to Africa’s development.
Explained in a more basic and practical manner, one of the masterminds Lebethe said “the aim of such a platform is to focus on converting entrepreneurial drive into economic value.
The responsibility of DriveBi is to create sustainable empowerment. This goes beyond being motivated-it’s about empowering the community with a platform that they can use to sustain themselves and their families.
You can start a small business in selling atchaar in the township and distribute nationally as long as there is a trip happening in that direction, for example. You can move goods from Cape Town to Ogies in real time, safely and conveniently at your negotiated tariff.
You can send documents from Polokwane to Durban in the same amount of time it takes to travel that distance because someone is going that direction anyway. ”
“Muparutsa eloquently amplifies that DriveBi’s with 3,9 million public commuters in South Africa, DriveBi is a linking platform solution that aims to reduce congestion, mitigate cost effective means to fuel prices and carbon footprint emissions.
This in turn can incentivise the development of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. The purpose of this is to transport more people per hour per lane at a higher speed than if the HOV lanes were not there, which also improves travel time reliability for those commuting.
DriveBi will alleviate the overburdened public transport system, rail and road. This will foster a safer public transport system as drivers often rushes to drop off and collect commuters leading to an increase in road accidents.
Overloaded trains often lead to commuters being pushed off as people are jostling for space to commute to work, amongst others.
This platform’s social objectives are in line with 2030 developmental goals, which talks about reduction of road fatalities thus increasing life expectancy.”
Public participation is crucial in creating an ecosystem around the township and rural economy through digitalization.
Digitalization has become an important tool in structuring systems of trade and economic frameworks. The digital market even accounts for 60% of all economic activity in developing countries.
The informal economy has often been marginalized and not recognized as a ‘normal’ income source. In a simple exemplification, the Gauteng Department of Economic Development has stated that South Africa’s Rural and township Economy accounts for R100 billion to the overall economy. The aforementioned, is 3% of South Africa’s GDP value of R 3, 1 trillion.
DriveBi’s socio-economic platform will be at the heart beat of communities and operating with the objective of unlocking the potential of the individuals within rural & township communities.
DriveBi is available for free download on all reliable digital app stores.
