Co-founder of SafeBoda, Ricky Papa Thompson who was recently named in the 2018 Forbes’ 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa has been announced among the key note speakers of the Red Sofa Sessions, an event that hosts Christian achievers from different spheres of influence.
Thompson was an Askari, then a commercial boda boda rider before he started SafeBoda, a ride-hailing app for motorcycle taxis.
His devotion to the development came after witnessing the death of a close friend in an accident in 2013.
“He will be joining us for the Red Sofa Sessions under the theme ‘Soaring in business,” Shadrack Kuteesa , the Red Sofa CEO told this website on Thursday.
“I’m proud that we have empowered boda boda drivers through the different trainings we give them. We mentor them in financial management so that they can manage their money better and be more professional in an industry that people very often underlook,” Thompson recently told media.
Half of the staff Thompson hired with his business partner, Alastair Sussock at SafeBoda to professionalize this transportation system in Kampala are former boda boda drivers who are now permanent staff.
“They manage teams, train other drivers, handle budgets and generally run the operations. Because of permanent employment, they now have access to benefits like the National Social Security Fund,” Thompson said.
Reports show that the motorbike taxis have their greatest popularity globally in Uganda, with over 80,000 riding the streets of Kampala.
The system works in such a way that one uses an App, SafeBoda app, bringing you a bike complete with a safety trained driver and protective gear.
Since its inception in November 2014, the fleet of drivers at SafeBoda has reached 15,000, according to Kuteesa.
Thomson will be joined by Dr James Magara, the Founder of the Jubilee Dental Clinics, Coopy Bly and Hum Kay. The event will happen 29 June at Golf Course hotel starting 6pm (Ush20,000 entry).
editor@ugchristiannews.com
