PIC CAPTION: Afric's mobility sector is expected to reach a market value of $7.8 billion by 2030. Africa Mobility Solutions (AMSO) founder Amadou Mbodj is capitalizing on this opportunity and aims to ensure that AMSO becomes Africa's number one fleet management solutions service provider. Image: Supplied / AMSO
Inspired by the vast opportunities within Africa’s fast-growing mobility sector that is currently valued at $4.2 billion and set to double by 2030, Amadou Mbodj boldly set out to start a mobility startup, Africa Mobility Solutions (AMSO) to make a difference in Africa’s fleet management industry. AfricArena’s Jabulile Sonya Ngwenya chats with Mbodj about his vision for bringing about transformation within the mobility industry.
Confident that his intuition will pay off in the long run, as the continent’s mobility sector is expected to reach $7.8 billion in value by 2030 and create over half a million jobs, Mbodj tells AfricArena that there is a lot of room for players within the industry, particularly as African governments and foreign investors recognize the opportunities in both the mobility and transport sectors within the context of the UN’s sustainable transport and mobility goals.
Mbodj started his Dakar based startup, AMSO in November 2023 when he recognized that there was a need within the market for an efficient fleet management platform. “I noticed that many organizations struggled with keeping track of maintenance schedules and monitoring operations so I set out to create a platform that would address these pain points comprehensively.”
AMSO is revolutionizing Africa’s fleet management landscape with their innovative solutions that are aimed at empowering organizations and helping them to streamline operations, enhance cost efficiency and maximize vehicle performance.
Mbodj tells AfricArena that in a nutshell, “AMSO's success and uniqueness in the market stem from its comprehensive, innovative, and user-friendly fleet management solutions, coupled with a strong focus on customer satisfaction, sustainability, and strategic partnerships. These elements combine to create a powerful value proposition that addresses the critical needs of fleet managers and businesses worldwide”
What AMSO does, Mbodj explains is that through its proprietary platform, “we offer a robust solution to the complexities of fleet management. It centralizes all necessary information, providing timely reminders for vehicle maintenance and offering tools to calculate operational costs effectively.”
“My vision is to provide a centralized system that could provide real-time diagnostics, streamline maintenance processes, and optimize fleet operations, ultimately helping businesses reduce costs and improve efficiency,” says Mbodj.
AMSO, he says, is a nifty, Swiss knife one-in all tool for businesses that require fleets as part of their daily operations.
These elements embedded within the AMSO platform helped this top mobility startup to win the AfricArena Best Mobility Startup Award at the AfricArena Abidjan Fintech, Energy, Mobility and Logistics Summit that took place in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in June earlier this year.
Mbodj beams as he recalls this win. “Winning the Best Mobility Startup award at the AfricArena Abidjan Summit has provided AMSO with enhanced credibility, increased visibility, valuable networking opportunities, market validation, investor interest, improved team morale, and strategic growth facilitation,” he says. He also adds, “these benefits have collectively helped AMSO to strengthen its market position and continue its trajectory of innovation and success.”
Fuelled by this win and his vision and desire to make a meaningful impact, Mbodj tells AfricArena his goal is to “offer an innovative and holistic fleet management solution tailored to the specific needs of businesses in Africa, with the potential to expand globally. Since then, AMSO has grown and evolved, continuously innovating to meet the demands of the market and deliver exceptional value to our clients.”
Mbodj started AMSO with an initial amount of $8,000 in funds before raising a $5000 grant from Open Startup. He shares that in addition to being thrilled at how winning the AfricArena Best Mobility Startup Award has opened up $25,000 in AWS Activate Credits for his team, he and his team are auto funding AMSO, and they are looking at raising $250,000 to consolidate their tech team and gain more market share within the mobility sector in Senegal.
The funding winter has not dampened Mbodj’s enthusiasm for growing and finding innovative solutions, even in the midst of difficult times. Mbodj says the funding winter helped AMSO to thrive and become more efficient and resourceful. “During the funding winter, AMSO focused on optimizing costs and improving operational efficiency to stretch existing resources. We conducted a thorough review of our expenses, identified non-essential costs, and implemented measures to reduce overhead without compromising the quality of our services. We had to streamline operations by automating routine tasks and processes, negotiate better terms with vendors and service providers and we also adopted lean management principles to eliminate waste and enhance productivity.”
Mbodj tells AfricArena he is passionate about building and expanding AMSO “because it gives me fuel to go beyond my comfort zone and to achieve my goal of providing the best fleet management solution in Africa.”
A typical day in Mbodj’s day-to-day life entails being engaged in morning calls with his team, afternoon meetings with both current and prospective clients and checking in with the technicians and admin officers throughout the evening to handle car issues and field questions.
Building a strong mobility startup is not easy, especially in the midst of strong competition. Mbodj acknowledges that he and his team have encountered a variety of challenges. “The journey of building AMSO has been marked by various challenges, from market penetration and securing funding to technological development and regulatory compliance. Through strategic planning, persistence, and a focus on innovation, my team and I have successfully navigated these hurdles, laying a strong foundation for AMSO's continued growth and success in the mobility industry.”
The best advice a mentor gave him, Mbodj shares with AfricArena, was to focus and “stay true to your vision and keep pushing; it's a marathon not a sprint!”
Looking to the future, Mbodj shares that he is focused on ensuring that AMSO “becomes the number one service provider for fleet management solutions in Africa.”
Working in the mobility industry, Mbodj says with a smile, isn’t for the weak. You need to be strong, and he advises founders looking for an opportunity within Africa’s mobility sector to be aware that “it’s a big pie that everybody can eat and to not take other companies as competitors, but as partners.” There is room at the table, Mbodj emphasises. With a plethora of investment coming into Africa’s mobility sector, he says there is room for founders, key stakeholders, and investors to collaborate and build powerful relationships that lead to intelligent partnerships aimed at building, transforming and enhancing Africa’s mobility and transport sectors into sustainable, people-oriented systems that will help Africa’s population to freely access and exercise their basic universal rights.
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