From our correspondent in Dakar,

Behind the wheel of his yellow taxi, Louis Sagna drives around Dakar looking for passengers. A customer who is less than two minutes away from his location has just ordered a ride from him via the Heetch application.

Kadia tested this service for the first time. "I had a trip to make around town for work and it's super complicated to find a parking spot," says Kadia. "Actually, it's really much more convenient for me, it's much more practical. It saves me from wasting time negotiating with taxis and explaining exactly where I need to go. I don't find it super expensive and it saves me certain inconveniences. So I think maybe the small extra cost is worth it."

For his part, Louis Sagna multiplies his chances of finding customers thanks to the application. "Before, I saw taxis driving around, driving around. They had customers, but with Heetch you have more profitability. Most customers are here, Almadies, Ouakam. You stay busy," explains Louis Sagna.

Convincing taxi associations

With about fifty vehicles registered for the moment, Heetch is approaching taxi associations to convince them to work with them. All drivers are then identified and receive training before their profile is activated. And to retain them, Heetch is not taking a commission for the moment, explains Malick Diagne, general manager in Senegal.

"The price is calculated based on distance and time. If a customer wants to pay by Wave Orange Money and the driver accepts, it's totally possible. Now, Heetch being a global worldwide application, and Mobile Money being a specificity of West Africa, of Senegal, it's something we need to add to the application," he says.

"It's all a matter of balance"

After three years of work, Heetch has therefore launched in Senegal with a local partner to offer the service in Greater Dakar. "The whole challenge is to find passengers in sufficient quantity so that the few drivers we've started to register can receive orders," says Patrick Pedersen, general manager of the company's expansion. "It's all a matter of balance, because if you don't have enough drivers passengers will say that the quality of service is really not good. And if you have too many drivers, the drivers will say there aren't enough passengers, we're not making a living on this application."

Competitors have developed on the private taxi booking market, such as Allo Taxi or more recently Yango.