New taxi service SHOWFA enters Kenyan market

A new subscription-based taxi-hailing app dubbed SHOWFA has launched in Kenya.

It enters the market with an added feature of ambulance services on its digital App making a revolutionary deal.

Unlike the existing taxi-Apps, SHOWFA drivers and riders will not be required to pay a commission which has often been high.

They will instead pay a weekly or monthly fee of up to Sh300.

Present during the launch were Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria and Nairobi Deputy Governor James Njoroge.

Kuria said he will push to have a law that requires foreign firms to relinquish at least 30 per cent of their shareholding to Kenyan citizens by birth abolished.

Kuria who spoke in Nairobi during the launch of a ride-hailing app on Monday said such requirements are outdated and have limited international companies to invest in the country.

“We have got this part in our statute that requires international companies to have thirty per cent local ownership if you’re to set up some of the operations like data centres. Ladies and gentlemen ‘hiyo ni mambo imepitwa na wakati’(those laws are outdated),” Kuria said.

The company's business development director Dhruv Rajah termed the new service as "unique" arguing the drivers and riders are going to save more from the new App.

"We have done market research and what the riders and drivers tell us is that they pay too much and exorbitant fees in commissions to foreign companies...we want to change that, we want a platform where they can save more," Rajah said.

He added, "When you have a happy driver or a rider, the customers flow in because they are assured of better services."

For the passengers, Rajah pointed out that it is safer, cheaper and reliable.

“This is a service that is commission-free service where the drivers and riders are empowered more, they earn more, we are working to ensure they get more money is saved,” he added.

To access the ambulance service on the App, a button has been activated with a response time being five to seven minutes.

Uber, Bolt, Little, Uber, Yego and Farasi are among the taxi-apps which have been licensed by the National transport and safety authority (NTSA) and currently operating in the country.

Yego charges a 12 percent commission per ride, Little 15 percent and others 18 percent per ride.

Uber and Bolt were forced to lower their commissions in October last year in line with new industry regulations.

This was due to protests by the drivers over the high cost of living and fuel costs which they said had forced them to take home lower earnings.