A Complete Guide to Start a Taxi Business in Africa

We know that you wanted to start your taxi business in Africa. You may be skeptical about how to approach the African market. That is why this blog - to clear all your queries and doubts.

Also, you'll get bonus tips. On what? That's the surprise you'll know after we answer your queries.

Let's start it one by one.

The Growing Demand for the Taxi business

The taxi booking industry is anticipated to reach a market value of $120.89 Billion.

• By 2027, the total number of users is expected to reach 1.45 Billion.

• The average revenue per user would reach the amount of $247.00.

• 55% of the total revenue will generate online by 2027.

All the statistics represent a positive future for the taxi booking industry. Like the user penetration, revenue per user, and market value - all were inclined to supplement the growth.

Why Taxi service in Africa would be a good option?

The taxi service is one of the most lucrative businesses in Africa. Some key points that back the claim are,

• Less car ownership rate compared to other countries.
• Increase in the use of mobile and other digital devices
• Most people prefer minibus and motorcycle taxis for their daily commute.
• Taxi services account for 75% of the public transport usage.

Interesting facts, right? With this, let’s move on to know the competitors in the market.

It seems the right time for the taxi business, but before, let's know the key players in the African taxi business.

Key Players in the African taxi market

As we said, there are not so many big players in the market. But after the advent and success of Uber in Africa, many companies and entrepreneurs are figuring their way to start their businesses.

Some key players to look out for in the African market,

1. Uber
2. Bolt
3. Jrney
4. Jekalo

For you - to compete with these companies, you have to be unique and determine your business objectives and niche. How you're going to differ? What values do you serve? Why customers need to prefer your service.

If you do it right, taxi businesses could deliver a good return on investment. Planning and execution are most important here - but do not forget about market research.

1. Create a well-laid-out business plan.

Your business plan is vital which set goals for your business's future - determining your initial goal and future goal is a must that gives you an idea of where you at.

Your plan should be clear and well laid out. Some important checklists are,

• Business description
• Goals of your taxi business
• Market demand and supply
• Financial analysis, etc.

Continue your read to learn more and leverage writing a successful startup business plan.

After successfully creating your taxi business plan, now you have to move on to the next step in officially starting your business.

After creating your plan for the taxi business, let's move on to the next step, where we see more official stuff.

2. Register your taxi business

The first step is to register your business in any of those countries’ legal entities.

For that, you need to give your company name, nature of business, and other formal details. The registration would cost around Rand 125 and Rand 475.

After the fulfillment, you can start building your fleet step by step.

3. Build a fleet

You may not have to have dozens and hundreds of cars in your fleet. You can start with what you have and slowly scale it with the profits you earn from your taxi business.

Or you can be an intermediator between the riders and drivers who own a car.

4. Insurance

The next step after building your fleet is to insure them for protection. Before collaborating with the drivers, check out the factors such as reputation, coverage, financial strengths, and service they have done before.

If you want to proceed as an intermediator model, it's appropriate to introduce plans and policies that betterment their driving journey.

5. Pricing

Affordability comes with innovation is one of the main reasons behind Uber's success. A pricing plan has a good impact, so be more conscious while creating your own pricing strategy.

What does it do to your customers? It gives them a chance to consider your offering, and that's a win.

6. Having your own Taxi booking platform!

After all these things, building your taxi booking platform is crucial - it is the initial step to take. In today's world, it is necessary to have a mobile app presence that interconnects the rider and driver.

Here's a complete guide on building your Uber-like taxi booking app.
As we said earlier, mobile and other digital devices are starting to increase exponentially in the African market. Hence offering a mobile app may help you scale your taxi business.

7. Leveraging Partnerships in the African Taxi Industry

In the ever-changing landscape of the African taxi industry, partnerships can play a crucial role in the growth of your business.

By joining hands with like-minded people, you can figure out a new channel of networks that eases your work to half. Some examples are

• Partnering with local taxi associates
• Partnering with taxi businesses
• Collaborating with local mechanics

8. Harnessing the Power of Technology

Leveraging technology can help you in many forms - however, it can speed up your work and help your business to shine ahead in the competition.

To put it another way, it can make each operation so straightforward.

• Implementing GPS and Navigation Systems
• Utilizing Big Data and Analytics
• Embracing Cashless Payment Solutions
• Investing in Vehicle Tracking and Safety Systems

How does the Taxi booking app make a difference?

The taxi booking app helps riders book and pay for their rides effortlessly. Some benefits for your taxi business are,

• Real-time tracking of taxis
• Higher business visibility
• Everything's automated
• With the help of an admin dashboard, you can easily manage the day-to-day operations effectively
• Scalability
• Straightforward workflow for riders, drivers, and admin
• Digital platform

Know how to build a Taxi app

There are two approaches: custom and readymade solutions. In custom development, you can build your app from scratch. Thus, it takes time and money to build a complete platform.

While a readymade solution, where you will get a readymade taxi booking app, you only need to customize and launch the app. Therefore, the cost and time are considerably low, comparing custom development.

If you choose the readymade solution, here is the Uber clone for you, a readymade taxi booking solution.

However, choosing between one is wholly based on your requirement and needs. We can't just like that persuade you with something.

Do your research and analysis - whether to choose a custom or readymade solution.

Types of taxi business ideas in African Countries

Other than regular cab taxi services, there are a lot of potential business ideas that you can start and be successful.

Some ideas related to the African taxi market are,

• Bike taxi services
• Airport taxi services
• Tow truck services
• Delivery services
• Shared taxis
• Water taxi, etc.

Say you’ve started any of the above taxi services models, but how to reach the customers?

How to promote your taxi business?

You can promote your taxi business in both offline and online channels. That's so-called traditional marketing and digital marketing.

Ways you can promote your taxi services are,

• Present your business on billboards
• Register your business on local directories
• Create your social media presence
• Build a taxi app to reach an audience through online
• Do SEO for your website
• Run social media ad campaigns
• Provide loyalty schemes and offers
• Word of mouth marketing – Make them trust your service

Bonus tip:

In the previous section, we witness the two ways to build your taxi app – building from scratch and customizing the readymade solution.

So in this bonus content, we'll discuss the features and benefits of the best readymade taxi app solution.

Some astonishing features and benefits,

• Geofencing
• Stripe integration
• Built with the latest tech – Flutter and powered by GraphQL API
• Provide 100% source code
• Dynamic routing
• Multi-currency and language
• Auto-payout
• And most importantly cost-efficient.

End note

We have covered everything you should know before starting a taxi booking app in Africa - from analyzing the market needs to persuade customers - we left nothing for you.

Now it is your turn to take action and be the future you dreamed of.