Gozem

Gozem come a long way to become Africa’s number-one super app. At present, Gozem proffers its services across Francophone West and Central Africa. The company works to fulfill on-demand transportation, delivery, and cashless payment services in a single app to thousands of users in Lome, Cotonou, and other cities. They work with the private, public, and informal sectors to solve problems hindering progress and unlock the region’s potential. Their journey began by approaching the relative efficiency & security within the transportation sector. Along with that, the company also expanded its criteria by availing various delivery services that improve user’s day-to-day life while providing earning opportunities for drivers.

Where to find us:

Supper App Services

How has Gozem Evolved

With a strategy to recreate the super app model like Gran, Gozem augmented its conveyance verticals to include taxi and tricycle services across several cities in Togo and Benin. The enterprise halted its geographic development moves and went upright during the pandemic. Later on, the company presented e-commerce and logistics services, where merchants can list products online that consumers and deliver the order to the customer’s doorway by assigning it to a particular delivery partner.

Afterward, the business introduced an asset financing opportunity for the company drivers by implementing a lease-to-own model for automobiles and further associated equipment.

After introducing the lease model, the company has provided up to 1,500 automobiles to motorists, Costmagna. They described in one report that the funding will benefit the business to boost the figure to around 200,000 before 2025.

VC4A has congratulated the team of Gozem, participants of the VC4A Venture Showcase 2020 edition, for raising their Series B funding of $11.5m in April 2023. So, as of now, the company has raised $33.5M with 4 funding rounds. VC4A congratulated and felt proud of the victory of Mr. Raphael Dana and his team and showed an eagerness to see how the future looks for the startup!

At the present moment, Gozem proffers its services in 13+ cities, including Gabon and Cameroon, with around 800,000+ registered users and conducted more than 5 million+ trips. Later, the originator stated the company looks forward to launching digital banking services and lending opportunities to its patrons.

The platform intends to utilize the existing network of forum users (here, drivers and merchants) who will work as agents for digital transactions. With this strategy, consumers can swap cash for mobile money through the Gozem app.

Gozem maintained its continuity to develop the business criteria, and as a result, it now has 250+ staff strong in four markets. The company will employ Series A financing to grow into more lands, counting on Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Ivory Coast. The company also looks forward to upgrading its asset financing model while fully launching its financial services.

Gozem on the Global Media Coverage

CNN: Interview of Co-Founder

The Co-Founder, Mr. Raphael Dana, spoke with CNN International’s Ms. Julia Chatterley live on August 9th, 2021, on her show First Move. Although transportation is the backbone of their business, Gozem aims to be Africa’s Super App. So, their teams are gearing up for growth beyond the ride-hailing business in Francophone Africa with meal delivery and digital wallet services.

CGTN: Gozem - African Super App

CGTN media has also talked about the experience of drivers and passengers. The passenger talks about the safety benefits; on the flip side, the drivers are happy to return to work. Moreover, the motorists also appreciated the management for caring for each person by providing the helmet facility.

Medias241: In the world of Gozem Gabon

Medias241 TV reported Mr. Romarick Zogo visited the Gozem office in 2021 located in Togo. He met first with Ms. Cecilia - The manager, and then the marketing, technical, and support team, along with the coach of the drivers who onboard the driver and the customer. The team appreciates the management squad for their kind support; for example, if the driver wants to earn but has no smartphone, therefore Gozem provides a pre-finance phone based on the monthly payment.

Reportage RTI | Gozem is like the Uber application functioning using motorcycles in Togo

In Lomé, the capital of Togo, individuals will find few cars but thousands of motorcycles in the early morning traffic. That is the commonly used source of travel in the country. The Locals call the motorcycles Zem or Zemidjans; they are easier to navigate in the traffic, fast, and affordable. There are almost tens of thousands of Zemidjans in Lomé, but in the last few years, there has been a change in the trend and a lot of new Zemidjans have appeared wearing green helmets and vests. People can book their taxis using their smartphone. The startup is Gozem, established in 2018. The company is betting big on the growth of the internet in the African continent. Their basic idea is to adapt the Uber model to local markets.

For Gozem, Lomé is a potential market with 40000 Zemidjans, but to conquer the sector, they face many hurdles. Such as many motorcycle riders do not use a smartphone. The Reportage RTI interviewed a Gozem Chauffer named Kossivi Gnaro. At the start of the day, it usually takes him 3-5 minutes to get a ride request. Gozem app works like any other ride-hailing app, Taxi Rider receives a trip from a customer then they get to the pick-up location using the mobile GPS feature. Users get the rate upfront, which reduces the room for negotiations, and also, it is easier to find a ride, being a potential reason pushing the customers to use the app on a frequent basis. Chauffer gets on an average of 20 trips from the application alone, so having customers throughout the day is what encourages the chauffer to use the app.

Gozem has its Lomé office at the city center near the beach. They have 25 employees who works in different departments like Marketing, IT, Customer support, etc. All the requests are coming online, so they do not have a telephone support line instead, they use the app to get the support requests and provide the support.

Gozem Chauffer earns twice as much as the regular for several reasons like they get compensated based on the travel they make to the pick-up location. Along with that, they get a weekly bonus if they make certain trips per week. Chauffer has to give 20% of their earning to the company in return for using the service, so they work as a contractor of the company and not as an employee, meaning they are always allowed to work outside the company.

Emeka Ajena, the company’s co-founder, has already worked for Uber for 4 years in California. He noticed a huge prospect in the African market for the Gozem app, and their goal is to modify customer habits. The company is expected to be profitable in 5 years as they focus on developing the application and accumulating the market share.

Published Paper in International Journal

As mentioned in the research paper ‘The Servuction in Transport of People: An Analysis From Gozem Togo Sarlu in the District of Grand Lome in Togo,’ which was published in the International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, describes the drivers and the passengers of the Gozem in Togo country are very satisfied.

The drivers being very satisfied with their belonging to the company service represents a 57% ratio, against 21% who are satisfied and 14% who declare that they are moderately satisfied. Those who are unsatisfied with their service with this service represent only 8%. This analysis reveals that 78% are satisfied with their services and recipes, all thanks to Gozem.

Along with the motorist, The passenger satisfaction analysis of data shows that 51% of passengers say they are very pleased with drivers and Gozem service, 19% of consumers said they are satisfied, 16% are moderately satisfied, and 14% are not at all satisfied. This analysis shows that satisfaction is very high among passengers, with a 70% satisfaction ratio. Hence, the user satisfaction ratio explains the increase in the company’s daily income, taking into account expenses.

Nominated for Award 2023

The Index Award celebrates design that improves lives. Since 2005, they have identified some of the world’s most impressive and iconic solutions. The Index Award not only covers great designs but also celebrates diversity, inspires hope, and acts as a stimulus for ground-breaking invention. It comprises all the classifications to design a better tomorrow that works for every individual person; that’s why they are always in search of the next game-changers.

It’s immense pleasure to share that Gozem was nominated for the Award Year 2023 as its design made urban users’ life easy by availing mobility and transportation solutions. By developing a network of drivers and service providers, the company enables people to utilize the shared transportation system instead of cars / other vehicles, leading to traffic congestion and high levels of air pollution in metropolitan city centers.

AWARD YEAR	2023
CATEGORY	Community
GOALS	Decent Work & Economic Growth
KEYWORDS	App, Mobility, Transportation, Urban Mobility
COUNTRY	Togo

With technological support, the company has made transportation easier for users and created convenient and seamless payment modes for consumers in urban domains.

References

• The Index Project Award: https://theindexproject.org/award/nominees/7117
• https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/gozem
• https://www.linkedin.com/posts/vc4africa_vc4a-ventureshowcaseafrica2023-startupsuccess-activity-7059136024920080384-W_QM?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
• https://tracxn.com/d/companies/gozem/__udYgBUdLyF1V-JBO_VCPOLKDSwZXAXqvwn3ZfJ1Un88