Cameroon - Business creation project

Describe your project or startup in a few words

Travel is a project which is aimed at digitizing inter-urban transport in Cameroon and other African countries whose major means of inter-urban travel is by bus. Travel aims at facilitating the process for both travel agencies and millions traveling daily

01.01 Describe your project in more detail

For so many years now, the major mode of inter-urban travel in Cameroon is by bus, operated by travel agencies. These buses range from 35 to 54 and more common 70 seater buses that plough the major national roads each day. To get access to these buses one is expected to have a bus ticket purchased at the agency. Till today, despite advances in technology and many other things, a Cameroonians till have to stand in long queues and at times for hours just to pay bus ticket. Civil servants skip work, students skip classes etc just to go pay for a travel ticket. Travel agencies still have people manually writing passenger information on books in order to sell them travel tickets. Even though this still works, there is need to find a solution to these problems and welcome the massive benefits that come with solving these problems. Time is a very important resource in today's world and time well managed can bring tremendous benefits. This is where my project comes in as a long term solution

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

The main problem this project aims at solving is minimizing unnecessary time and money wastage/loss that everyday travelers incur when it comes to purchasing inter-urban travel tickets from agencies. Many if not all travel agencies in most towns are located in one area. This implies for a person to get a ticket, they have to travel to the said agency (which costs money) and queue up (which costs time) in order to get a ticket. At time when mobile payments have become a norm and there is available technology, I strongly believe we can do better as a country. We can have a system that saves someone from have to travel kilometers just to go book a ticket. This is time and money that can be put to better use if such a person could securely, and reliably have a web/mobile platform via which they could book and pay for their ticket and travel without any issues. I am thinking of students, I am thinking of workers, and I am thinking of people in need of travel tickets in an emergency.

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your project intends to provide (at least 3).

I strongly believe that once implemented, this project will have loads of benefits both to travel agencies and travelers. - This project will save time and money wastage on the part of travelers. - This project upon implementation will offer travel agencies the ability to have a handy database that can aid in business decisions and business and employee evaluation. - This project is going to serve as a source of employment to young Cameroonians. it is not a project I can implement alone. I see this project employing about 50 young graduates in the first five years of existence. - This project is part of startup and will also serve as a learning environment for young Cameroonians to serve as interns and practice what they learn in school. Technology is the future and I strongly believe that this project is what the inter-urban transport sector in Cameroon needs to meet the needs of the people. People will graduate from sending people to agencies, placing calls and WhatsApp messages.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your project is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

Our project primarily targets operators of inter-urban travel agencies in Cameroon and everyday persons travelling from one city to another within the country. Everyday, hundreds of thousands of people travel by bus from one region of the country to another. We want to offer a streamlined process that will facilitate the process of booking for and paying bus tickets. We strongly believe that this will bring about cost and time savings and eliminate problems we often encounter in travel agencies just to get travel tickets.

01.05 When did you start working on your project?

2023-11-05

01.06 How many other partners are associated with your business venture?

1

01.07 Among the other partners, how many are female?

0

01.08 Please describe the profile of each of the other partners (skills, experience, etc.)

I am starting this business venture with my childhood friend, Dr. Laiven Desmon. Desmon is a self-taught Software Engineer with over 8 years of experience. In our early days of learning to code, we were mostly doing freelancing building websites for businesses and government institutions. Desmond is a graduate from University teaching hospital, FMBS Yaounde with specialization in Dentistry. As a medical student, he was learning software engineering on the side as a passion. Today we have come together to jointly start this business venture with the dream of digitizing inter-urban travel in Cameroon and neighboring countries. Desmond is passionate and has always dreamed of contributing to nation building and fostering development. He enjoys working with teams and is always ready to help in anything that pushes forth common good.

01.09 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link here:

01.10 Which industry best describes your project?

h) IT (digital services, equipment and software)

02.01.01 My project contributes to the No poverty goal

6

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification

The project we are implementing is a project that three of us cannot handle especially when it goes operational. We are going to need more persons to handle other aspects of the project in a bid to ensure that we are serving our clients needs to the highest possible. This simply implies that our project will not only a solve the main problem we are targeting but will also create jobs/employment both direct and indirect . This though small will contribute to fighting poverty. The persons employed will have the means to take care of themselves and provide for those who depend on them. In our own way, this contributes to fighting poverty and creating a poverty-free life for all.

02.02.01 My project contributes to the Zero hunger goal

5

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification

In order to afford food, persons in the city centers need to have money no matter how small. More often than not everything in the city needs to be bought, nothing is free, Our project will fight hunger in that, we intend to duly pay those we will be employing to join our team. This money among other things will permit them to feed themselves, feed their dependents or even make charity donations. On our part, we intend to give to those in need in hospitals, mental homes, orphanages. These are persons who rely on gifts and donations for their livelihood. By making these donations, we will in effect be fighting hunger and contributing in our own little way to a hunger-free world.

02.03.01 My project contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

4

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification

02.04.01 My project contributes to the Quality education goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification

Our project is part of a startup that will providing software solutions to businesses and organizations. As a startup, we aim to be a place where in students can form for internship and put to practice what they learn in school. Our educational system in Cameroon and a large portion of Africa is largely theory based and this makes if difficult for graduates to be of good use in their field of study after school. We want to provide a place where students can go into full practice, learning and building projects to boost their confidence and make them more ready for the real world.

02.05.01 My project contributes to the Gender equality goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification

our team as of now counts three persons including one lady. This for now does not look equal but its as a result of how the idea came to be. As a team we are not going to base our opportunities on gender when we finally open our doors to increase our team. The basis will be primarily competence. In the tech world, nowadays, it is not a man's world, we have women doing great things and developing great products. We will be offering equal opportunity to very gender and also balancing to ensure we have an environment where both women and men cooperate and working together in serving the public.

02.06.01 My project contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

3

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification

02.07.01 My project contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

3

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification

02.08.01 My project contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

7 - Strongly Agree

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification

Technology has proven that it will be the backbone of future development and economic growth in many countries. This is already evident in many of the world's leading economies. The problem our business venture is aimed at solving is a life-long problem. Finding ways to mitigate time wastage and streamline processes such as the one our business venture is targeting will improve time usage by all parties. With our business venture business owners(travel agencies) will be able to effectively evaluate their businesses and mitigate any challenges as soon as possible. Business can better make decisions based on facts from data obtained and not emotions. We strongly believe that our business venture will increase the revenue of all the agencies that will be in business with us.

02.09.01 My project contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

7 - Strongly Agree

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification

The transport sector in Cameroon and a greater part of Africa has not seen much innovation. The project we we will be unveiling is an innovation into the inter-urban transportation sector in Cameroon. It certainly is not an innovation in time but it is an innovation in space. We do not currently have a platform that permits an individual to surf through different agencies, book a ticket and pay directly from their phone. We have taken time to implement a platform that we believe is going to power the future of inter-urban travel in Cameroon and many other African countries. We are bringing to the people a platform that is available 24/7 from wherein they will be able to book and buy tickets, schedule trips and leverage the power of online payments via mobile money to securely handling ticket payments. We will be offering travel agencies a digitizing platform to document passenger information, creating a database from which they can do a lot of things positive to their business.

02.10.01 My project contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification

Oftentimes in travel agencies when people queue up to pay tickets, preference is always given to certain persons as the expense of those who have been there earlier. This is not faire but then it happens. With our platform, everyone in possession of a laptop of a mobile phone can access the platform , search through, and pay for their ticket without suffering preferential treatment. Our platform provides an equal opportunity to all to travel with any agency, at any seat and any time of their choosing. The platform does not offer preferential treatment whatsoever to anyone.

02.11.01 My project contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

4

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification

02.12.01 My project contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

4

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification

02.13.01 My project contributes to the Climate action goal

4

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification

02.14.01 My project contributes to the Life below water goal

2

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification

02.15.01 My project contributes to the Life on land goal

2

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification

02.16.01 My project contributes to the Peace justice and strong institutions goal

4

02.16.02 Peace justice and strong institutions - Justification

02.17.01 My project contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

4

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification

05.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

2

05.02 The product/service we envision creating represents an entirely new type of product/service.

6

05.03 The product/service we envision creating could be described as a new technology.

5

05.04 The product/service we envision creating is an improvement on an existing product or service.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.05 The product/service we envision creating could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

4

05.06 The product/service we envision creating responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.07 The product/service we envision creating is a new version of an old product/service.

4

05.08 Justification

From the survey we have been carrying out, from going through social media handles of many of the transport agencies, many persons would gladly welcome the opportunity to remotely book and pay for their bus tickets without and intermediary person. Currently many people have to rely on WhatsApp and phone calls which still comes with great inconveniences. Even virtually, they still have to queue. WhatsApp and phone calls creates problems because it makes it possible for one ticket to be sold to two or more persons and this creates serious issues at departure times.

05.09 Who are your main potential competitors and what makes you stand out from them?

For now I do not know of any real competitor. I do know of mobile applications that offer the opportunity for passengers to pay for tickets. From my research these till fall short and many of those short comings have been addressed in our own system. Existing systems address ONLY the passengers. Our system is superior in that it addresses everyone who is involved in the travel process; passengers and travel agencies. Our goal is to digitize the entire process facilitating the process for all involved, offering and far better and efficient way for handling tickets for inter-urban travel.

10.06 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

Yes. This business venture is a product of a larger idea. My dream is to share my knowledge with and encourage young people to embrace tech and find ways of contributing to nation building and development. Personally I intend to encourage more and more females to pick up the challenge. Females are actually very smart and entrepreneurial, they often just need some form of encouragement to make the most of their abilities.