new ventures

Locomute

Locomute- Africa's First Car Sharing Network

Locomute is Africa's first car sharing network. The co-founders were inspired by the understanding that this is something bigger than all of us, something that allows them to contribute meaningfully to their communities, the economy and the environment. Through Locomute's technology, members have 24/7 access to a growing number of cars around South African cities. Locomute takes care of fuel, insurance, parking and eTolls.

As far as industry-wide disruption goes, start-ups built around “shared economies” could arguably be said to have contributed to some of the largest shifts with respect to how consumers choose to transact today, thereby posing risks previously averted by legacy incumbents. (Uber, Lyft and Airbnb are among the most valuable private companies in existence today).

In a recent PriceWaterhouseCoopers survey, the following revelations were made:

• The "shared economy" is set to generate $335 Billion in revenue by 2025.
• 50% of U.S. adults expressed familiarity with the “shared economy.”
• 43% of U.S. respondents agreed that ownership of vehicles and property was unnecessarily burdensome.
• 81% of respondents agreed that sharing services and possessions were less expensive than owning such items.

South Africans are not to be excluded from the recent wave of start-ups focused on capitalizing on the “shared economy”. With the penetration of automotive ownership/access as low as 28.5%, and with the ever growing strain on South Africa’s infrastructure to handle the increasing number of motorists each year, Ntando Kubheka and the Locomute team are making serious strides to not only alleviate some of the burdensome consequences of automotive ownership, but mitigate the adverse effects of urbanization that some of South Africa’s largest cities have been subjected to over recent times.

What started out as an MBA assignment has blossomed into a network of over 300 cars in as little as 7 months. Locomute is currently active in the broader Gauteng area, Cape Town and Durban.

When asked about the reasons behind their recent successes, Ntando and co-founder Tumi pause with childlike excitement, exclaiming Locomute’s ardent consumer focus; creating an experience that is both cost-effective and easy to use. Having successfully integrated with some of the worlds leading near-field technologies, mapping and GPS technologies, and comprising over relationships with some of the world’s leading car manufacturers, identifying suitable drivers behind recent adoption is not a task all that daunting.

While ultimate scale for Locomute is a non-linear exercise, Ntando and Tumi are far from asleep at the wheel. The Locomute team is well on its way to penetrate Africa’s densest markets, and work alongside such giants dominating shared services today.

About Ntando Kubheka & Tumisang Marope

Tumisang (Tumi), CEO of Locomute, spent all of his time prior to Locomute in aviation as an engineer and inspector. He is visionary and a workaholic with a soft heart for Africa. Tumi loves engineering and technology- which Locomute embraces. Ntando is the CFO of Locomute. His role is to chart the way forward and build the next big thing. He has a deep passion for innovation. Ntando’s experience include accounting and banking, with his last stint at Standard Bank as Head of Innovations and Strategy.