inDrive Advocates for Fairness, Trust, and Transparency in Mobility at Founders Friday
As the call for greater trust, transparency, and fairness in digital platforms grows louder, inDrive, the global mobility and urban services platform, took center stage at Founder’s Friday in Abuja. The event, which attracts over 4,000 startup founders, tech innovators, and changemakers each month, provided a vibrant forum for inDrive to engage directly with Nigeria’s dynamic innovation community. The company utilized this platform not just to showcase its services but to foster meaningful dialogue on reshaping urban mobility across Africa.
Departing from conventional corporate presentations, inDrive’s participation emphasized community involvement and collaborative solution-building. Representatives, including Nigeria Country Director Timothy Oladimeji, participated in panel discussions, interacted with local entrepreneurs, and conducted live feedback sessions to better understand the evolving needs of urban commuters and drivers alike.
“Founder’s Friday isn’t just about visibility — it’s about building connections,” Oladimeji remarked. “We came not just to talk, but to listen. Fairness in mobility must be co-created with those who use and operate these services every day, rather than imposed from above.”
Challenging the Norm: Why Mobility Needs a New Playbook
Across Africa, ride-hailing has become essential to daily life — connecting people to work, education, healthcare, and social opportunities. But the sector has long operated within models that limit user choice, apply high commission fees, and rely heavily on algorithmic fare structures that can obscure pricing and reduce trust.inDrive offers a distinct approach: allowing riders and drivers to negotiate fares directly. This fare-bidding model, once seen as unconventional, is gaining attention for its ability to restore user agency, reflect local economic dynamics, and introduce transparency into the ride-hailing transaction.
“There’s a growing shift from algorithmic control to human negotiation,” Oladimeji noted. “It’s about dignity and choice — two things that shouldn’t be rare in mobility services.”
Fair Earnings, Not Flashy Incentives
Another theme that emerged during Founder’s Friday was the increasing importance of sustainable driver earnings. While many platforms operate on commission rates as high as 25–30%, inDrive caps its commission at 9.99% in monetized cities. This enables drivers to earn more while keeping ride costs competitive for passengers — without the need for complex incentive structures that can create financial uncertainty.
Safety Through Transparency and Empowerment
inDrive’s user-centric model also extends to safety. Beyond features like real-time trip tracking and SOS buttons, the platform empowers users with visibility and choice: passengers receive multiple driver offers and can select based on rating, vehicle type, estimated arrival time, and user feedback. This transforms safety from a passive feature into an active decision-making process.
Co-Creating the Future of African Mobility
As Africa’s cities grow and mobility needs become more complex, inDrive is looking beyond ride-hailing. The platform has already expanded into courier and freight services in parts of the continent, and sees itself evolving toward a broader super-app offering — one that connects people not just to transport, but to opportunity.
The company’s participation in Founder’s Friday underscored a core belief: that the future of mobility will be shaped by the people who use it. Through local partnerships, active community engagement, and ongoing feedback loops, inDrive is committed to developing solutions that are not only tech-driven, but also locally relevant and socially inclusive.