42
LOCAL MEETS GLOBAL
EMB
DR E A M LITTLE
K
global mobile money transfer service,
M-Pesa—on a daily basis. Getting them
onboard would be critical to our success.
There were clear synergies between
myself and Safaricom’s Chief Executive
Bob Collymore. Under his leadership,
Safaricom has always had a reputation
for being the most innovative service
brand in the market and they are
constantly looking to improve people’s
lives. For my part, as a renowned ‘techie’
I am constantly seeking to use technology
to bring African solutions to Africans.
So, when we sat down for a meeting,
with a service provider’s computers,
faster and more efficiently than SMS,
without the need for internet access.
COMPETE ON COST AND IDENTIFY
COMPETITOR SHORTFALLS
Through these channels, we enable users
to enjoy lower rates than those offered by
on-street options. In fact, ours is currently
among the most affordable options in the
market, charging a minimum fare of Ksh190
(US$1.85) and a cost of KSh35 (US$0.34) per
kilometer. The regular off-street taxis do not
have a minimum fare, though the shortest of
rides costs around Ksh500 (US$5).
Competing on fares is a must in a market
where several other e-hailing services are
all jostling for position, with Dubai-owned
MondoRide, Estonian competitor Taxify and
global heavyweight, Uber, prime amongst
them. Yet, low cost is just one way that we
are tackling the competition.
In fact, when market leader Uber arrived
on the scene, there were a lot of things
it could have done better. For instance, it
locked out existing taxi operators, did not
engage local government stakeholders
and didn’t appear to represent the drivers’
interests. We saw an opportunity to capitalize
on these gaps, entrench Little as a home-
grown solution to the industry’s issues and
make drivers feel like a part of the company.
With this intervention, we have grown to
13 percent customer market share,
putting us second in place.
One of the ways we’re earning a competitive
advantage is by prioritizing the needs of our
drivers as well as our users. For instance,
we believe we are the best when it comes to
pay. We take just 15 percent off drivers’
earnings, while other players are taking
between 18 percent and 25 percent. And our
easy-to-use system has pulling power too.
After the application was launched,
Omboyi the gas station attendant discovered
that two of what he considered to be his
biggest problems were solved. He recounted
how he would not have to agonize over
getting clients or determining a rate card for
his service—the Little system did all this for
One thing I didn’t count on was how fast
things would move. Our first step was to
engage with Safaricom. Arguably Kenya’s
largest corporate company, the commu-
nications giant commands brand loyalty
from over 25 million subscribers that use
one of its numerous platforms—including
SUMMER 2017
it was pure gold. Little was seen as
a great innovative way to travel and
Safaricom was happy to be part of it.
We met on a Tuesday and had a team
ready that following Friday. Five months
later, Little was live.
Today, after investing US$5 million in
the startup, the Little app is connecting
riders with taxi drivers, with a total of
140,000 downloads across all platforms
to date. Crucially, Little is not only
available on iOS, Android and Windows
phones, but also through USSD, a protocol
used by GSM cell phones to communicate
PRIORITIZE DRIVERS AS
WELL AS RIDERS
WITH THE RIGHT PARTNERSHIP
THINGS CAN MOVE FAST
EMERGING MARKETS BUSINESS
AT A GLANCE
BY KAMAL BUDHABHATTI
enya’s capital
Nairobi has, for
years, taken pride
in calling herself
Africa’s Silicon
Valley. Numerous
technology start-
ups, a high smart
phone usage and impressive internet
penetration numbers have led to the
growth of a thriving IT sector. And, for
Craft Silicon—the country’s largest
software maker and the company I
lead—a chance intrusion into urban
trends could only result in one outcome:
the development of the e-hailing innovation:
Little—a product that is revolutionizing
how Kenyans move from A to B.
In August 2016, 41-year-old Gad
Omboyi was a gas station attendant in