The launch of EkoCab has generated more chaos and anger than the supposed cheers. Lagosians have been trooping to the App stores to give the App low rating so that it could be removed from the stores.

The anger emanates from the perceived oppression of ride-hailing businesses in the state. The recent okada ban and the incessant reports of oppression of Uber and Bolt drivers by the officials of Lagos State Government.

It is believed that the clamp down by the state on the ride-sharing companies has been intentional, that it appears more like a retribution from the state government because the companies are on gig economy. And moreover, the state government has ulterior motive to start a ride-hailing company of its own.

For these reasons, Lagosians didn’t find the launch of EkoCab funny and have vowed  to immobilise it.

But on Wednesday, Segun Cole took to Twitter to explain the new taxi and those behind it. Read his statement below.

“I am Segun Cole. CEO Ekocab. I know this is so 2000 and late, but better now than never.

“I have been a policy Consultant on New Mobility to State Governments. Advising them on how to better Regulate the Industry and proffering solutions.Sometime back 2015, Uber refused to be Categorized as a Transport Operator, called themselves a digital App connecting riders and drivers only. They created this messaging Architecture and it was established Globally.

“Lagos State wanted to better understand their Operations and bring them under the Tax Infrastructure. We advised them to set up a Sandbox framework, while collecting data to help them study the Operations. They did. On the Other hand, local taxis, including Metro/Red and the rest were complaining of diminishing profit margins and source of Income. The argument was that, this was their major source of Income, unlike Uber drivers that did this as part time mostly.

“So we advised the Regulators to tell these other players to go develop their own Tech, so the Regulators can then draft regulations that regulate all Digital Apps, whether uber or owned by players that owned Cars. Just One problem, the Technology was expensive. That’s when I offered to develop this App, that Onboarded all drivers from all other players that can’t afford to develop their own App. It was the M-a-a-s model.

“The Government agreed and Introduced us to these players. First of them are the yellow taxis. We wanted to give them a fighting chance, help them Upgrade. We understand it’s going to take more than just technology, so we trained and also did Culture Re-orientation for them. We only trained 100, that we’re tech savvy and Cars that met the standard(AC +).

“Most of these Cars are Unbranded, the media only took pictures of yellow pick up backs.

To put this in proper context, Ekocab is open to private Cars. It’s two offerings; local and private Cars. A Step beyond Uber’s model.

“We ran successful pilot tests around surulere last year. I have been involved in every Stakeholders engagement with the Government. This has nothing to do with any clamp down on Uber/Bolt. I took advantage of the timing like any Business person would do. Bolt/Uber, heck even fahim Saleh of GoKada are my friends.

“Why are think there is pressure from some Corners of Ekocab is that, we are going to be providing the Regulators a Dashboard to better Track Commuter Traffic Patterns, to better help solve traffic problems. This Mobility data would also provide information like accidents rates, speed rates, and e.t.c

“This doesn’t sit well with some folks, because this can also reveal some information that would expose shady activity. Away from Mobility data. Our prices are certainly Cheaper, and our 12% Commission is lower than what’s available. I plan to incorporate Boats, EV logistics and food delivery services. The name would change eventually to Incorporate the Vision. This has been bootstrapped with our money and sweat. We haven’t had a dime from any Investors. We did this on purpose, demon Investors everywhere.

“For Online Media presence and controlling the narrative, yes i agree, i have scored F9. Those that covered the launch on twitter, deliberately left out the fact where we announced the app would be going live on the 17th. We wanted to make sure demand met supply.

“This is a Nigerian Company, Owned by Nigerians. I am a Lagos Isale eko boy. I wanted to show that a Nigerian company can give other Nigerian entrepreneurs hope when placed against foreigner Companies with billions of dollars. I am not against Uber and Bolt or Opay, the road is Big enough (We all contribute to congestion though) I wish every player the best.

“I can’t Speak for the Government, what i can say is this, this isn’t Government Owned, no powerful person in the Government owns this. Lobbying isn’t Illegal. Every player should be deliberate about collaboration with Regulators.

Do a quick research, globally, the regulatory landscape is changing fast, in California and London, independent contractors have been reclassified as employees.

“I am a Member of NUMO(New Urban Mobility Alliance) I can suggest to local and foreign Regulators to borrow from the playbook of over 254 Cities. The point is this, At Ekocab, we want to take things further. There’s barely a Company that’s not selling Users data. Ekocab Mobility Data that doesn’t invade privacy and trade secrets would be sold and profits shared with our drivers. The Data that’s generated is done on Lagos Infrastructure and first belongs to Lagosians before its Ekocab or any company. This is Our Mission. Finally, I Am Open to going on Air or doing Interviews. Let’s Clear this up.

“I understand people are angry about the whole Okada Ban, my Company has nothing to do with this. Heck I used this Apps. I can barely survive without them. I went as far as engaging the Government to Overturn the Ban, and drawing from policies used in Regulating Asian Ride-hailing Apps. I also suggested, that when the players are back, they provide annual economic impact reports. What I am currently working on holistically with Ekocab, is a “Future of Africa Mobility Lab” that brings all Micromobility players and TNCs together, collaboration is the future.”

However, this explanation has fueled people’s anger more than it has calmed it.  It is believed that Ekocab is a government owned enterprise that the state has planned to set up before now, and is using Mr. Cole to front it to cover the cynicism behind it. However, the perception of the Ekocab is likely going to impact the startup negatively.

Paga, a Nigerian mobile money and payment services startup has announced its partnership with Visa to expand its services and give subscribers a wider network. In a statement issued on Medium, the Fintech said the partnership is aimed at accelerating services toward global reach, and to give account holders the ability to make transactions using an already established platform with global network.

“We are pleased to announce our strategic partnership with Visa to enable Paga and Visa work closely in accelerating secure and convenient mobile payments for merchants and consumers in markets where Paga operates.

This partnership is in line with Visa’s goals to drive alternative payment channels, in this case, mobile wallets, within its global ecosystem. For Paga, partnering with Visa is one step further in our global expansion plans. Now, all Paga account holders will have access to Visa credentials (physical and virtual cards) tied to their Paga accounts and thus the ability to transact anywhere in the world where Visa is accepted,” the statement said.

Paga said that the partnership involves new innovative initiatives that will be introduced soon: Merchant acceptance solutions which include QR codes and NFC for in-store merchant payments, online payments, and international remittances which will be facilitated through Visa platform.

Nigerian Fintechs have been using partnership strategy to expand their services to countries beyond the shores of Africa. Last month, Interswitch announced its partnership with American Express. The two companies were aiming to leverage on each other’s audience to expand their services. It appears that other Fintechs in Nigeria are following the same pattern.

Speaking on the partnership, Paga’s Founder and Group CEO Tayo Oviosu said Visa has become their ideal choice of partnership because they have common goals, and together they will make a great team in providing services to the underserved.

“We are excited to partner with Visa, a leader in payments globally, as they are constantly building world class solutions for consumers and businesses. Our goals are well aligned. As we scale our wallet across emerging markets such as Nigeria, Mexico, and Ethiopia, partnering with Visa to give both consumers and businesses, who have been underserved, access to Visa’s global network made sense to us.

“Furthermore, it was clear to us in all our engagements the alignment of our goals towards solving the issues of cash, digitizing cash transactions and delivering financial services using new and innovative approaches. We are very happy to have signed a long-term relationship with Visa,” Oviosu said.

Part of the innovation that the partnership will facilitate is to give merchants who use Paga’s payment collection suite the ability to accept non-card based payments from customers from around the world, as long as they original banks offer Visa services.

Paga believes that the new approach will change a lot of things, improve customer service, usher in a new experience that will in the long-run yield growth in sales.

Visa also expressed confidence and excitement about the partnership. Visa’s Vice President, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Fintech & Ventures for Central Europe Middle East and Africa Otto Williams said the development will result in speed and convenience beyond borders.

“We are excited to have Paga plug into our network, as a company we remain grounded on the principles of partnership, innovation, trust and openness. This development ushers in a new era of speed and convenience beyond borders.

“It also allows us to continue working towards innovating robust platforms through which merchants using paga’s payment collection suite can benefit from international money transfers and the growing eCommerce industry,” Williams said.

The statement reveals that Paga will join Visa Fintech Fast-Track Program as part of the deal. The program gives fintechs easy access to the global Visa payments network. The fintech fast-track program also provides support to players in the payment industry who are developing new commerce experiences by opening up Visa’s network to allow them facilitate financial services beyond their immediate environment.

Moreover, the fintech fast-track program includes eased access to Visa’s payment capabilities and its streamlined processes. This strategy affords companies the opportunity to grow in phases no matter the size of the company.

Paga is a mobile platform that allows its users to transfer money electronically and make payments through their mobile devices. Paga acts as a mobile wallet where any user equipped with a mobile device can conduct transactional activities using their device. It was founded in 2009 by Tayo Oviosu and publicly launched in 2011.

Tuesday is March 11. It was the day after Africa lost one of her illustrious sons to the ill fated Ethiopian Airline 302 crash in Addis Ababa. This day last year, it was an amalgam of sadness, confusion and grief among fans, friends and family of the late Nigerian-Canadian professor of English and Literature- Pius Adebola Adesanmi. Tears were shed both on physical and virtual spaces. From Accra to Ottawa, Canberra to Lilongwe, the days preceding March 10 in 2019 was a mourning period for a man reputed for his passion to change the not only the narrative but the reality of the problems prevalent in Africa. He has a huge following on Facebook from where he satirically launched acerbic attacks on those who seek to perpetuate the problems in Africa especially Nigeria, the country of his birth. 

Tuesday marked a year of this great loss and his friends, fans and colleagues celebrated his passing. From Facebook, encomiums were poured on Adesanmi and tributes flowed in celebrating what he stood for during his lifetime. In an essay penned to reflect on the one year without Adesanmi, Prof. Adeleke Adeeko, a Humanities Distinguished Professor at the Ohio State University, opened with a sense of personal loss. He lamented “It’s been a year ago now that I read anybody refer to me as “o??ga mii?!” Death ensured that Pius Adesanmi? will never call me that again.” He went on to describe Adesanmi’s death in the crash as “an awful infliction on us all in Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019. The bad news was, and is still, too stunning.” He delved into other areas where Adesanmi had influence in his life time. He agonized over Pius’s missed scholarly, literary and public intellectualism. 

In other posts, especially, the African Doctoral Lounge on Facebook, there were bursts of emotional words to express the absence of the giant African Professor. Bukola Akintola-Adesina wrote of Adesanmi’s immortality –  Pius,   you live on in our hearts. Tope Oriola, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Alberta, fondly expressed how Okun son remains in the hearts of his friends and followers. He wrote “We remember: Today and always. Adieu, Pius Adebola Adesanmi. Another follower of Adesanmi, who is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of English Studies, University of South Africa, Dr. Josephine Oluwafunmilayo Alexander also expressed a sense of deep loss for Adesanmi. She posted “the grief that greeted us with your tragic and sudden end remains palpable in our hearts and souls. Our world has been perpetually altered. You live on in our hearts and we love you eternally.” 

The tributes came pouring in a year after the demise of the Isanlu man, father of two daughters and only son to his parents. A Nigerian follower, Rofi Tayo, a student of the University of Benin wrote – I ask myself how, what and why death took him away unnoticeably. Ethiopian airlines flight 302 crash is more than a crash to the lovers of an academician, writer, literary critic, satirist, and columnist. Mystery in disguise. I hope his dream for his dear country is manifested, his book (Naija No Dey Carry Last) illustrated his passion for his great Nation called Nigeria.

As the years count by, it is understood that the wayfarer had gone to look for his final flight back home. A home where all mortals go. We are all wayfarers and we shall all board our flights home when the time comes. Death will happen when it will.