Since 2018 the Yango team has soared in Africa, now being represented in more than 20 countries worldwide. We asked Kado what factors helped us grow so quickly in the region. He shared that success is often credited to many people, while failure is usually seen as an orphan.
In general, success can't be attributed to just one factor, but we discovered several key ones:
1️⃣ The Yango Business Model. Instead of working directly with drivers, we work through partners. This revenue-sharing model empowers partners to earn more than they would working directly with drivers. It enables them to become entrepreneurs and grow their business, thereby empowering the communities we serve. 2️⃣ Team Spirit and Values At Yango, we place a high value on openness and attitudes. When hiring, we focus on soft skills, with attitude being paramount. I believe it's tough to change someone’s attitude, and a poor one can negatively affect team spirit and overall performance. We basically achieve our goals by fostering the right attitudes.3️⃣ Business Environment. Africa's business environment is relatively friendly, having a resource-rich environment providing a level of security for investments. 4️⃣ Team Effort to Transform Markets. Our team played a crucial role in educating the market and partners by launching initiatives such as Yango Education & Tech Day in Zambia to provide data analytics skills free of cost. We pushed hard to reach a critical mass, convincing everyone that this business was viable. Once we hit that tipping point, Yango became synonymous with ride-hailing in Côte d'Ivoire.
Today, "taking a Yango" means ordering a taxi in Côte d'Ivoire. The Yango team in Côte d'Ivoire is currently expanding its ecosystem in the app beyond ride-hailing to include new services. We spoke with Kado to understand what has driven Yango’s rapid growth in Côte d'Ivoire and what keeps us successful in the region while launching numerous new products. Here’s what we learned:1️⃣ Foundation in the Main Product The success of our main product at ride-hailing is like a strong main branch of a tree, with new branches sprouting from the trunk. This main branch is our core team, which provides a solid base for launching additional products. And if we want to launch any additional product, the team is already there.2️⃣ Connection Between the Services Our approach began with taxis, then expanded to delivery—leveraging the existing taxi team's knowledge and operational expertise. Our delivery team, experienced in B2B projects, then formed the basis for new teams. Then we launched the Deli team, baes on the delivery team. Based on the teams experience we now launch new services. Today, as we launch our buy-and-sell platform, we integrate these teams. This combination of specialists facilitates communication and experimentation, determining what resonates with our customers and what doesn’t.
