WE MUST NOT COPY UBER’S KIND OF INNOVATION

I have to spare some time to write again after a couple of days.

Tonight, I want to unveil hidden opportunities in the public transport industry that we take for granted.

As I wrote in my last article, innovation is about identifying real problems that reasonable number of people face everyday and proffering a solution to it in a way that appeals them.

Let's look at the everyday problems we face with public transport.

1. Looking for change to balance passengers. This is an everyday problem between drivers/conductors/passagers. As a passenger, you will have to wait for the driver to get change. Sometimes, you forget it. Some conductors are good at making you forget your change. While you wait for your change, every other passenger is delayed too. In few occasions, one person can just forgo his/her N10 so the bus or tricycle will move. This is a real problem that can be solved through innovation. I know you might be asking how? Over 95% of drivers/conductors look for change daily.

2. Knowing when a bus or tricycle is coming and identifying if it's going your way so you don't waste time rushing and it's not going your way. I can afford to pay N1 for that service everyday. Over 50M people in Nigeria uses public transport. (50M/Daily) This is an everyday problem that can be solve through innovation. Yes I might have a how to innovate around this, but I am not to solve everything.

3. While in a public transport and you don't know your way, you will keep asking other passengers and driver to remind you when to stop. If you can solve this problem, people will afford to let go N10 each time you create such value. I know what it means passing where you are going and taking bike again to go back. It can pain 😥. And naturally, people don't like asking so others don't take advantage of them. Even driver will just tell you N250 for a N150 trip knowing you are a JJC.

4. Most public transports have to stay at one location waiting for passagers. They end up spending hours to get filled when a lot of passengers are on the road waiting. Some public transport known as Aka n'elu (those that drive around looking for passengers) attempt to solve this problem by hiring a driver who is more experienced in identifying where to find passengers along the road. After successfully loading the bus, he hands over to the main driver for a fee ranging N500 to N1000 as the case may be. What if you solve this problem by helping drivers to identify passengers for a lesser fee using innovation, the good thing is that you can also get a commission from the passenger for helping him/her get found by the bus. This is an everyday problem worth billions of dollars.

These are our everyday problem. But we overlook it not seeing the billions of dollars.

We want to solve global problems when there are local problems worth billions of dollars.

We must not copy existing models or from the western countries and begin an UBER just because everyone is solving UBER kind of problem.

Before UBER started, waiting for a long time along the road while trying to find a taxi has been in existence until they saw it and started innovating around it.

Tomorrow, if someone solves another everyday problem to become a billon dollar company through innovation, you then acknowledge that it's really a big problem worth solving and we copy and begin to attempt.

While UBER is now a billion dollars company, I believe that the public transportation market for the lower-middle class and above-poverty Nigerians have a bigger market opportunity than that of UBER which is for the high and middle class.

We don't have to copy the UBER model, there are more interesting problems that have bigger market opportunities.

Don't just like, I will like to read your thoughts around this.

If you want me to keep writing on subjects like this, please comment also.

I hope I will write again soon.

- Igwe Uguru