Ghanaian technology entrepreneur Nana Osei Afrifa is seeking to challenge established ride-hailing giants Uber and Bolt with his locally developed platform, VaMijo, as he targets expansion across Africa.

Afrifa, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Afrifanom Company Limited, formerly Vokacom, believes the Ghanaian platform can grow into Africa’s leading ride-hailing service within the next decade.

He describes VaMijo, which means “let’s go”, as part of a broader vision to develop technology solutions tailored to African markets rather than relying on business models designed elsewhere.

“We have to become the number one ride-hailing platform on this continent in 10 years. Vamijo is the next MTN,” he said.

Afrifa believes the company’s understanding of local markets gives it an advantage over international competitors, despite their considerably greater financial resources.

“What we have, however, is resilience and the knowledge of the continent. Nobody is coming from anywhere in the world to know our continent better than we do,” he said.

### Early traction

Since its commercial launch in May, VaMijo has recorded more than 31,600 completed trips and attracted 10,857 unique users.

More than 6,000 of those customers have reportedly used the platform on multiple occasions, while about 3,350 drivers have registered on the service.

The drivers have collectively earned more than GH¢1.67 million through the platform.

Afrifa, however, says VaMijo is not seeking to compete solely on price, arguing that the company is focused on delivering a service designed around the needs of Ghanaian users and drivers.

“We don't want to be the cheapest brand on the market. We also don't want to be the most expensive. What we are offering is being done by Ghanaians for Ghanaians,” he said.

### Expansion beyond Ghana

The company is also looking beyond the Ghanaian market, with Afrifa indicating that there is interest in VaMijo from countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Angola.

He said the company intends to retain a localised approach as it expands, including employing local teams and adapting its operations to the conditions of individual markets.

“Every nation is different from the next. Most people come with one-size-fits-all policies that never work,” he said.

### From digital addressing to ride-hailing

Afrifa’s confidence in building technology for African markets is partly based on his earlier work in developing Ghana’s digital addressing system.

The system, which has reportedly been adopted by more than five million users, is used by government agencies and private businesses, including organisations involved in logistics and service delivery.

Afrifa said the idea emerged after a business he was running encountered difficulties locating tenants because customer information had been kept in handwritten records.

He subsequently developed a digital solution to address the problem, which was later adapted for wider use.

His innovation initially faced criticism from some who viewed it as similar to existing mapping technologies.

“They didn't understand the difference between an address and a pin,” he said.

Ghana subsequently became the first country to adopt a nationwide digital address system as its official addressing platform.

### Building a sustainable local tech company

Afrifanom, established in 2004, has since expanded its technology interests into areas including digital payments, healthcare, logistics, higher education and government services.

Afrifa says the company has deliberately focused on building sustainable products rather than generating publicity.

“As a businessman, you are either making money or you are making noise. You have to decide which one you are,” he said.

That approach is now being applied to VaMijo as the company seeks to compete with international ride-hailing operators without relying heavily on the huge subsidies that have characterised the expansion of some global platforms.

Afrifa acknowledges that the financial gap remains significant, with international competitors able to mobilise substantially more capital.

“They can raise a billion dollars in six weeks. We don't have that kind of luxury,” he said.

He nevertheless believes local knowledge, resilience and an understanding of African consumers can help VaMijo compete.

Beyond mobility, Afrifanom is also developing digital healthcare solutions aimed at monitoring conditions such as hypertension and diabetes remotely, while continuing to expand its digital addressing technology into other African markets, including Liberia, Uganda, Namibia, Botswana and Equatorial Guinea.