Hwindi Taxis’ stock rising
HWINDI Taxis continue to increase its dominance on the local I CT sector following the popularity of their exhibition stand at the recently held ICT Innovators Expo held in the capital.
Their concept struck a lot of attendees of the expo who were impressed with the efficiency of the service.
Basically Hwindi is a taxi, ridesharing and tow truck smartphone (Android and Apple) application that matches passengers (users) and drivers (providers) using an efficient algorithm that optimizes availability, cost and distance.
The app is available for use in Zimbabwe and South Africa on-demand, for dispatch of tow trucks and passenger vehicles (taxis).the legwork for identifying local innovators and startups that will benefit from The Innovate expo also gave a platform to several other ICT innovators who stand to benefit from the Zimbabwe’s National Innovation Fund.
This fund is an initiative spearheaded by the Ministry of ICT which, with the help of the telecoms regulator POTRAZ, is collecting up to US$25 million from the country’s mobile network operators to use as a resource pool for young ICT innovators and entrepreneurs.
In an interview Hwindi Taxis director Patrick Manyangadze said his organisation hails ICT minister Supa Mandiwanzira for hosting such expos which is a good platform.
At the stand, Manyangadze also stressed how his company values security of clients.
‘We are focusing on safety and will have background checks run on all its drivers. All prospective drivers must also provide a police report. By contrast, Uber has been sued multiple times by women passengers who said they were sexually assaulted by their drivers,” he said.
He said his company was focusing on safety and would have background checks run on all its drivers. All prospective drivers must also provide a police report. By contrast, Uber has been sued multiple times by women passengers who said they were sexually assaulted by their drivers.
The objective of the ICT showcase, which was coordinated by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe was to identify, harvest and support young innovators in the country to develop ideas, protect their intellectual property and deploy their technical solutions for use in the Zimbabwe and global market.
The event gave ICT innovators a chance to present their concepts to a panel of judges who would then select the best innovations. This second Zimbabwe ICT Innovators showcase proven to be hugely attractive, with over 80 innovators having been registered for the Harare edition. Over half of these exhibitors were corporates whilst the remainder are individuals.
The event came at a time when the country was witnessing a vibrant and fast growing communications sector underpinned by substantial investments in network infrastructure, including expansion of the broadband fibre network, data and internet expansion.
Government is also expecting to capitalise on the ICT sector’s forays into the financial sector, ordering cash transfers through the mobile money services to start contributing to government tax like other banking services. Mobile banking services have helped bring banking to the unbanked population.
ICT is considered as one of the major pillars of economic revival in Zimbabwe after surpassing other sectors in performance over the last decade.