One of Kenya’s earliest and probably unknown ride-hailing taxi firms, MARAMOJA Transport has appointed three new members to its board renew growth efforts in a once promising tech-based taxi business in the country.
With just 30,000 drivers on the platform since inception in 2015, MARAMOJA Transport has focused on Corporate Business through MARAMOJA for Corporates and grown its customer base to 100+ Corporates with 100,000+ Users in Kenya. Recently, MARAMOJA Transport recently launched MARAMOJA for Schools to solve the transport challenges faced by students. MARAMOJA for Schools has completed 30,000+ School trips across 70+ Schools since its Launch in May 2021.
To compete giants Uber, Bolt, Little among others, the new members Ethel D. Cofie, Marta Paiar, and Paul Ndichu are expected to add their juice to the board and help the firm think outside the box and ofcourse connect the taxi business to thousands of their contacts they have made working across the region. The three members bring massive experience from the tech industry and will be valuable to the operations and the strategy of the business in the region:
In a statement, Jason Eisen, MARAMOJA Founder, and Group CEO, “We’re excited to channel Ethel’s, Marta’s, and Paul’s talent, expertise, and energy into furthering our mission. Ethel, Paul, and Marta joining the MARAMOJAs Transport board mark a huge transition point for the company as it continues to scale in Kenya and across Africa. Their expertise and knowledge accelerate MM’s ability to fulfill its mission of bringing trusted mobility services to the entire African continent, treating all stakeholders fairly along the way, and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs around the continent to bring world-class mobility services to their communities, large and small.”
Ethel D. Cofie is the founder of Women in Tech Ghana, initiator of the 1st Pan African women in tech meetup, and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for work supporting women in ICT and is Africa’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government for the ICT Category, according to CEO Global. Ethel is also CEO and Founder of EDEL Technology Consulting, an IT Consulting and Digital Products Company in West Africa and Europe that was recently named IT Consulting Firm of the year by the Telecoms and IT Industry. Ethel will be bringing her experience in technology, leadership, and strategy to MARAMOJA’s Board:
“I am excited to be part of the MARAMOJA Transport Board. They have shown true innovation within the mobility space in Africa and I look forward to supporting that journey.”.
On the other hand, Marta Paiar is an entrepreneur and telecom & fintech corporate executive with 20 years of experience in Europe, Africa, USA, the Middle East & Central America in top-tier management consulting and blue-chip companies. Marta has extensive experience in leading resources and is widely regarded as a motivational and inspirational leader, keynote speaker at Pan African and European events as well as a jury member for innovation competitions. Marta is very passionate about startups and entrepreneurship, highly energetic, and has a strong international network. Marta will be bringing her experience in management, leadership, and strategy to MARAMOJA’s Board:
“I am extremely excited to join the MARAMOJA board and support digital innovation across Africa. Looking forward to supporting the founders and company leadership as MARAMOJA embarks on the next phase of international growth,” says Marta.
Paul Ndichu, the co-founder of Wapi Pay, is an experienced founder, chief executive officer, and business leader with Africa’s first tech unicorns. He has a demonstrated history of working in fintech, financial services, information technology, and banking and is skilled in strategy, digital, management, negotiation, business planning, marketing, operations management, and analytical skills. Paul will be bringing his experience in strategy, technology, and leadership to MARAMOJA’s Board:
“It is extremely exciting to join Jason, Ronald, and the team. They have proven a consistent track record of growth in a competitive mobility landscape. Together with UTU’s AI technology, the scale potential into even more regions is huge. Look forward to working with this great team.”
“We are delighted to welcome Ethel, Marta, and Paul to the MARAMOJA board, their leadership, and experience in strategy, technology, startup, and innovation space will be valuable in guiding MARAMOJA in the next phase of our growth and in building a stronger mobility infrastructure for the continent” said Ronald Mahondo, the CEO of MARAMOJA Transport, who endorsed the board for the appointment and noted that the three members will bring in their valuable strategic counsel that will help in steering the business to profitability and better performance.