In April 2022 when Serge Niyonkuru’s aunt was pregnant, she went into labour unexpectedly. Even worse, there was nobody to take her to the hospital, not even a taxi around her location. Her car, however, was available, but she didn’t have the energy to drive. Around the same period, Niyonkuru’s friends frequently asked him to drive them home from bars when they were drunk. With his driving license, he was happy to help. However, after doing this several times, Niyonkuru realised that there were probably many others who needed a similar service. So he decided to create a solution that could help others in similar need. ALSO READ: 1,900 killed in road accidents since 2020 Niyonkuru spoke to his software developer friends, and they created a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of an application called ‘Dropawave’. This app allows users to request a driver to take them to their destination in their own car whenever they are too tired to drive or have consumed alcohol. They began testing the application with their friends. “I told my friends to use ‘Dropawave’ whenever they needed me to drive them, and when they found it helpful, they invited others to download and use it,” says Niyonkuru. “We realised that it was a service that many people needed and that it could result in a business. We were aware that drunken driving was one of the main causes of road traffic accidents and wanted to give our contribution. We started developing the app by adding the needed features. It took us around two-and-a-half months.” ‘Dropawave’ is now a local tech start-up that created the application, and Niyonkuru is its CEO. ALSO READ: Uninsured taxi motos account for 75% of road accidents To use the app, users can download it from Google Play Store or App Store, sign up as new users, and then enter their location and desired destination. The app shows users the price and, if they are ready, they can book a driver who is nearby. It also provides users with the driver’s information and the time it would take for the driver to reach them. According to the World Health Organization, 1.3 million people die each year as a result of road traffic accidents. And driving under the influence of alcohol is one of the main causes. Niyonkuru believes that this challenge requires a mix of solutions in partnership with all segments of society. He says ‘Dropawave’ is one of the solutions that can help directly curb road accidents by providing a safe way for people to get home when they are too tired to drive or have had too much to drink. Niyonkuru notes that the app is categorised as both a mobility start-up and a health tech start-up, explaining that they save a life every time a user requests a driver via their app. Though there are drivers called ‘abasare’ who provide a similar service offline, Niyonkuru says ‘Dropawave’ is different because it works with trusted and professional drivers. “Even if users face issues with their driver, they can reach out to us for assistance,” he says. ALSO READ: Measures to curb Rubavu road accidents underway, officials say The app currently has 890 users, but Niyonkuru and his team are confident that their service will continue to grow as they expand their facilities and provide a valuable solution. The start-up is currently working with 40 professional drivers around Kigali city and plans to expand by setting up a call centre to help more users. Their goal is to have every Rwandan who owns a car use the app. He adds: “There are many untapped opportunities in the local mobility ecosystem, and we want to make ‘Dropawave’ a mobility super app and scale up to other areas.”
