Founded in 2015, the unique story of GoMyWay began with the unconventional plan of Damilola Teidi to help Nigerians cut down transportation costs by connecting private car owners with empty seats with individuals or passengers heading the same way across cities in Nigeria. Such a brilliant startup solution that GoMyWay was said to have been backed by well-known investors, including Co-creation Hub, Konga founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Sim Shagaya and former Amazon and Naspers executive Bill Paladino. However, while GoMyWay succeeded in gaining the attention of Nigerians, it was not making money. A zero revenue would eventually come back to haunt the company.
The Startup Target:
Located in Lagos, Nigeria, using its web platform, GoMyWay was designed to provide a sustainable solution to Nigerians' high transport cost burden by connecting passengers with car owners going the same route with empty seats to spare. There were good times for the ride-hailing startup, in fact, filled with great momentum and vision to transform the transportation experiences of people even across Nigeria, the startup was already announcing plans to expand to other African countries, with South Africa first on the list, followed by Kenya and Ghana just days after launching.
GoMyWay and Nigeria's Ride-hailing Industry
Nigeria's ride-hailing industry has thrived for over a decade, with big-name companies like Uber, Bolt and Lyft leading the scenes. These companies use apps or websites to connect passengers to drivers for on-demand car rides and have become very important to Nigeria's transportation sector. While it may come in various innovative solutions, the ride-sharing concept is not unpopular in Nigeria and around the world, it is one common way for people to move from one place to another, hitching rides with an unknown driver at random locations or bus stops. In fact, in Nigeria, it is a culture with drives tagged "Good Samaritans."
What is the fate of GoMyWay?
One major factor in the Ride-hailing industry is funding. For startups to scale in this industry, they need to be well-funded with the idea of burning heavy cash to acquire users. However, after burning cash to acquire users, startups must be profitable to stay operational. Unfortunately, GoMyWay could not do that, as it had run out of funding, and investors did not wish to continue backing the company with further funds. Hence, in late October 2018, the Nigerian ride-sharing platform GoMyWay ceased to exist after operating for about 4 years.
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