By Our writer
Transport operators lose a lot of revenue as untrustworthy conductors charge money that is not recorded anywhere in the operator’s books, thus revenue leakages.
In a bid to close the gap and improve transport operators’ revenue collection, however, Innocent Orikiiriza founded the KaCyber, a transport and logistics technology company that builds digital ticketing and payment systems for transport operators of buses, trains, and ferries.
Orikiiriza says that he was motivated to innovate the online ticketing solution after seeing that Uganda’s transport operators lacked reliable and cost-effective ticketing systems and were losing money due to manual ticketing mechanisms.
“Based on KaCyber’s transport sector survey and data analysis, bus operators lose 30 to 40 per cent of their revenue when using manual booking systems,” Orikiiriza says.
Currently being used by the Uganda Railway Corporation (URC) on the Kampala commuter train and local buses companies including Star Link and Highway Coaches, the solution has blocked revenue leakages and also enables passengers to book a travel ticket online, and only go to the bus or train station on their travel day.
“Our digital platform serves both the transporters and passengers; on the operator side, we provide point of sale machines that allows instant ticket issuance and payment collection, as well as real-time sales reconciliation,” he explains.
He adds: “On the passenger side, we provide a mobile application for Android users and a ticket booking marketplace, where the public is able to book and pay for travel tickets of buses, trains and ferries.”
According to Orikiiriza, the company implements LevelOneProject Principles as it does not compromise when it comes to security implementation in its product ecosystem.
He notes that their products are developed with bank-grade security controls.
“We are lucky to have established strong partnerships with companies that comply with global payment standards at all levels. Our systems are connected to payment processors, banks, and mobile networks,” he says, adding that they are also in discussion with payment schemes and integrators that offer real-time payment settlements.
Cheap exposure
KaCyber is among the firms participating in the ongoing second edition of the 40-Days 40-FinTechs programme, held by HiPipo under its Include EveryOne programme, in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox and Mojaloop.
Orikiiriza commended HiPipo for the programme, saying it will empower more startups to get cheap exposure to a wide network of potential partners at a local and international scale.
He, however, says that while FinTech industry continues to grow on a global scale, startups in Uganda continue to struggle to bring their solution to market due to low tech adoption and limited resources to break through these barriers.
He notes that collaborations with the banks and telecommunications companies are highly needed now more than ever to create favorable platforms and allow Uganda’s FinTech industry to grow exponentially.
The HiPipo Chief Executive Officer Innocent Kawooya alludes that the second edition of the 40-Days 40 FinTechs will showcase the best of the multitude of solutions and products one can think of in the digital space.
“We expect showcases of innovations and brands operating in this space and also use this chance to learn, at no cost, from probably the most knowledgeable pool of global FinTech experts that are all scheduled to present this year.
Kawooya adds that FinTech in Africa offers attractive opportunities and that investors are rightfully picking interest in the various startups that are offering a plethora of services, ranging from payments and lending, remittances, cross-border transfers and neobanks, among others.
KaCyber can be accessed at www.kacyber.com and on social media
