South African transport solutions startup GoMetro has been named as a finalist in the Mobility Enterprise (MobiPrize) transport entrepreneurship competition, which looks to honour entrepreneurial ventures helping to improve quality of life and revitalise the environment and economies through sustainable transportation.
GoMetro joins two United States (US) startups in the final of the competition after obtaining the second most votes during a period of public voting.
Judges will now decide the overall winner, which will win a trip to India for the MobiPrize awards ceremony next month. South African transport startups WhereIsMyTransport and Mellowcabs were also involved in the public voting.
GoMetro is a regular participant in international startup competitions, having finished second in the Get in the Ring competition last year and won a Meffys innovation award.
Launched in 2012 to map and report on public transport in South African cities, the startup raised seed funding last year from the 4Decades Capital and AngelHub Ventures, and has since rolled out a number of new products.
Disrupt Africa reported in March the startup had mapped all transport routes around the Cape Town suburb of Belville as a proof of concept for its innovative new mapping techniques, while it also launched an “Email My Boss” functionality and GoMetro Mini, a mobi site designed for older phones and available to commuters in all of South Africa’s 11 official languages.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Justin Coetzee told Disrupt Africa in July the successful launch of the mapping software was a precursor to the startup’s expansion across Africa, with GoMetro targeting launches in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania – as well as Indonesia – in the next year.
