Four young Guadeloupeans united around a common ambition: to modernize transport in Guadeloupe and Martinique. Alicia Hadjard, Yannick Jotham, Michael Fabri and Florian Houllemare are at the origin of the project “An sav fè sa”, today in the final of the #PitchTonInno competition organized by the Public Investment Bank (BpiFrance). Their concept? Create a car-sharing platform that also offers a team of private drivers, based on the now global Uber model.
The idea was born in 2014, in London where Yannick Jotham is doing his final internship. Initially, he wanted to create a service platform between individuals, based on the People Per Hour site. But the project is evolving quickly. “Market research has shown that people need one service most of all: transportation. That’s what came up most often when we asked them the question, that’s the lack, ’’ says Alicia. In December 2015, the team then decided to focus solely on this sector and everything accelerated.
“An sav fè sa is really based on the principle of an online application. We want to try to make transport to the Antilles something accessible, which is quite normal in the end. For this, we relied on the solutions that already exist in mainland France, namely new technologies, and we said that we were going to apply it to the Antilles, but focusing on the concept of community. The result is a hybrid system combining a car-sharing platform, with a “Girls Only” option for women who prefer to travel between them, and a platform of private drivers more focused on tourists and requests requiring a particular standing.
If carpooling is more like a mutual aid system, the service of private drivers requires the presence of professionals in the sector. And contrary to appearances, Guadeloupe and Martinique are not lacking, as noted by young entrepreneurs during their market research. But the lack of communication between VTCs and their potential customers puts the profession at risk. “We contacted a few drivers, offering to join them. They were interested, says Alicia. They have everything to gain by modernizing and standardizing. It would allow them to have more visibility and therefore more customers, and it would be beneficial for all. ”
Beneficial for all… provided the price follows. The team plans for the moment to position itself on market prices, while remaining accessible: “The private driver, it is obviously a range above. But if you don’t want to take a VTC every day, there is carpooling. In this way, we are accessible to everyone. ”
A unanimous project
Within a few months, the An sav fè sa project quickly gained momentum. And more particularly since May 5, when the team decided to participate in the #PitchTonInno competition of BpiFrance. In one weekend, their presentation video obtained more than 1,000 “likes” on social networks. “We had very good reactions, a lot of support, people who came out because they liked the project and wanted it to succeed. We felt carried, pushed, comforted in the idea that it was a need “, confides Michael.
Their project also attracted the jury of the competition, which selected it from a hundred others to enter the final on May 25. “It was a nice surprise, because we saw videos that had more than 80,000 likes. But the BPI considered that our project deserved to be selected. We really weren’t expecting it, “recalls Yannick. “In addition, we thought it was BPI France, that our Guadeloupe / Martinique project was not necessarily going to interest them, that they were not going to find it innovative. And finally, that’s what made us strong. ”
“During the interview for the final, the juries concluded that there was a real need. It was obvious even to them, when they don’t necessarily know the terrain. I think that the fact that there is a real need and that it is a virgin market on which we arrive with an already ready project has attracted them. Perhaps that is what made the difference with the other candidates. We have everything to do, ”says Michael. In the end, a grant that can cover up to 70% of expenses, for a maximum amount of 30,000 euros.
Whatever the outcome of the competition, the An sav fè sa team will do everything in their power to make their project a reality for the month of August 2016. Benefiting from the reputation of the BPI, the four young entrepreneurs indeed plan to launch a crowdfunding campaign, in addition to any aid from the public authorities.
“There are a lot of things in metropolitan France that could work in the West Indies and that are not possible because of the pressures exerted by some. A service like ours, indeed we know that it exists and that it works everywhere in the world, so why not in the Antilles? Asks Florian. “People tend to wait, to think that if it exists in mainland France, it may happen in ten years on the islands. But it’s up to us to take this project on, adapt it to a market we know, and do even better. ”
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