CarXie, a Nigerian-owned car-hailing company has spread its operations to Owerri, the capital of Imo state in southeastern Nigeria. So far, the company has only operated within the boundaries of Lagos and Abuja.
During the launch, CarXie announced that its mobile application will be working perfectly with Swift2Pay, a payment platform through which riders can make payment. After careful consideration and feasibility studies, Dukan Group, the parent company of CarXie broke into the fast-growing technology-driven transportation ecosystem in Nigeria after launching operations in Lagos.
CarXie, dubbed as “the truly Nigerian Mobile App” will be the first technologically driven car-hailing service in the southeastern part of Nigeria, as the company continues to contend with competition in Lagos and Abuja. “We have CarXie, active in Lagos, Abuja and now operational in Owerri. People have started downloading the App. We are bringing it to Owerri because of the unique innovation that CarXie is embedded with,” said Mr Chinedu Amadi, Operation Director, Dukan Group
In addition, CarXie has a one-off feature that allows its executive partners to create over 5000 jobs. This distinctive feature according to the Mr Amadi is not available on other car-hailing applications, and it works perfectly by opening a CarXie outlet for Vehicle and Driver registrations, along with free inspections by partners who in turn get rewarded.
“For every driver, you bring on board, you earn one per cent. For each ride the driver makes, you earn one per cent of it. If you have 50 drivers under your portfolio, you earn N170,000 to N240,000 for just being a partner. The more drivers you have on your platform, the more money you make,” Mr Chinedu Amadi explained during the launch.
The proliferation of car-hailing apps in Africa, and particularly Nigeria has tremendously shaped the transportation sphere in the country leaving no table unturned.
As an indigenous, car-hailing company, CarXie is also aiming to hold the fort in both inter/intra city transportation in Nigeria which is largely dominated by rickety buses and cars. This spurred the company’s decision to ban owners of cars manufactured before 2008 from registering on its platform as drivers before it officially started operations in Lagos so as to provide riders maximum satisfaction. However, CarXie is unrelenting in its bid to compete with other services in Nigeria, its fleet of cars are automatically equipped with car tracking and voice chats with drivers. This is done to ensure the safety of riders throughout the trip.
No doubt, expansion to other cities like Owerri point towards the huge potential in the untapped market in many cities across the country. While the big two (Uber and Taxify) have taken over the reins in Lagos and Abuja, exploring other cities and introducing new features might give the indigenous company a new edge in the sector, and that is exactly what CarXie intends to explore.
