Mitigating Kampala‘s everyday traffic congestion burden with customer safety and punctuality at the
forefront.
Safe Boda launched in 2015, it was the first ride-hailing companionship in Uganda and has been the
prevailing actor ever since its establishment. It began as a community of drivers of motorcycle taxis,
known locally as “boda-bodas”, who have been a fraction of the transport structure in Uganda for a
number of years to date. The swift urbanization of Ugandan society wasn’t matched by investments in
road network, and Kampala’s streets heavily congested with traffic, making motorcycles a viable means
to navigate the ongoing complex transport system there by enabling various road users to get to their
final destinations on time in regards to effectiveness and reliability .Furthermore, lack of the appropriate
protective gear for drivers or passengers, inexistence of without fear or favor environment in the
spectrum of driving in Uganda, this mode of movement is bound to be contributory aspect primarily
aiding the occurrence of accidents.
By the same token in reference to the name “Safe Boda”, this started with an emphasis on navigating
the idea of safety through engaging riders in a series of trainings regarding safe driving along with
provision of fundamental safety equipment such as passenger helmets among others, an unusual
attribute in the Ugandan context.
In addition, dwelling deeper in the concept of mobility the other highly prioritized aspect is the mode of
accessibility in that Safe Boda came along with a provision to its potential customers to easily access the
various services by means of an online application referred to as the safe boda app thus aiding
convenience of scheduling rides solely down at the desire of the customer. The co-founders — Alastair
Sussock, Maxime Dieudonné, and Rapa Thomson Ricky — have raised financial support from investors
including GoVentures, the investing arm of Indonesian ride-hailing unicorn Gojek (now part of super app
company GoTo), as well as Allianz X, the venture arm of German insurance giant Allianz, Transsion
Holdings, the Chinese phone maker, and lately, Google.
forefront.
Safe Boda launched in 2015, it was the first ride-hailing companionship in Uganda and has been the
prevailing actor ever since its establishment. It began as a community of drivers of motorcycle taxis,
known locally as “boda-bodas”, who have been a fraction of the transport structure in Uganda for a
number of years to date. The swift urbanization of Ugandan society wasn’t matched by investments in
road network, and Kampala’s streets heavily congested with traffic, making motorcycles a viable means
to navigate the ongoing complex transport system there by enabling various road users to get to their
final destinations on time in regards to effectiveness and reliability .Furthermore, lack of the appropriate
protective gear for drivers or passengers, inexistence of without fear or favor environment in the
spectrum of driving in Uganda, this mode of movement is bound to be contributory aspect primarily
aiding the occurrence of accidents.
By the same token in reference to the name “Safe Boda”, this started with an emphasis on navigating
the idea of safety through engaging riders in a series of trainings regarding safe driving along with
provision of fundamental safety equipment such as passenger helmets among others, an unusual
attribute in the Ugandan context.
In addition, dwelling deeper in the concept of mobility the other highly prioritized aspect is the mode of
accessibility in that Safe Boda came along with a provision to its potential customers to easily access the
various services by means of an online application referred to as the safe boda app thus aiding
convenience of scheduling rides solely down at the desire of the customer. The co-founders — Alastair
Sussock, Maxime Dieudonné, and Rapa Thomson Ricky — have raised financial support from investors
including GoVentures, the investing arm of Indonesian ride-hailing unicorn Gojek (now part of super app
company GoTo), as well as Allianz X, the venture arm of German insurance giant Allianz, Transsion
Holdings, the Chinese phone maker, and lately, Google.
