Innovation Spotlight: ACE Mobility, A Journey Fueled by Love and Resilience
This blog is part of our weekly #InnovationSpotlight, exploring the stories of ventures within our GDI Hub Accelerate portfolio. Here we meet Ace Mobility, a start-up that completed our Kenyan-based Innovate Now Accelerator.
Founded by Daniel Gatura, Ace Mobility provides safe, reliable, affordable, and inclusive transport services (taxi with ramps) through their taxi hailing app, available on play store. The beginning of ACE Mobility can be traced back to a pivotal moment in the founder's life, a moment that altered the course of his destiny. At the tender age of seven, his world was shaken by a tragic accident that befell his father, who was involved in a serious accident that left him physically disabled.
Tragically, this accident also led to his dismissal from work, adding another layer of challenge to an already difficult situation. As a young child, our founder witnessed firsthand the immense challenges family members faced in accessing transportation services to travel and provide for their families. In response to this, he felt a deep sense of duty and responsibility to become a caregiver. This experience ignited a spark within him, inspiring him to envision a mobility solution that would cater specifically to the unique needs of individuals with disabilities.
Founded three years ago, Ace Mobility emerged as a response to the glaring need for accessible transport in Kenya. Their commitment lies in providing affordable, reliable, and user-friendly transportation options for individuals with diverse abilities. It is during this period that Daniel joined Innovate Now accelerator cohort 3, where he went through sessions on conceptualization and implementation, where the idea of accessible transport evolved into a viable business model. This collaboration enabled them to conduct user testing, engaging directly with individuals with disabilities to refine their service structure.
“My most interesting section was the user testing, which helped me greatly scale up my business idea to utilize specially adapted vehicles equipped with features like swivel seats and wheelchair ramps. ACE Mobility aims to facilitate easy access for all passengers," says Daniel.
Since then, ACE Mobility has emerged as a crusader for dignity, opportunity, and the fundamental right to lead a fulfilling life irrespective of physical constraints. They have received not only local (2 awards at the Best Mobile App Awards) but also international accreditation, having won the (y4pt) Youth for Public Transport hackathon at the UITP summit in Barcelona, Spain. They have also offered the last accessible conferences touching on the inclusivity of persons with disabilities that have happened in Kenya. This has led them to fulfil more than 1500 rides to over 20,000 clients and they hope to do even more in the coming years
About Innovate Now
Innovate Now was launched in 2019 as part of the £40 million, UK Aid funded, AT2030 program, led by Global Disability Innovation Hub. “Implemented through a consortium of partners including Amref Health Africa (lead implementing partner 2019-2021) and Kilimanjaro Blind Trust (Live Labs implementing partner and new lead implementing partner).” (“Innovate Now, Africa’s first Assistive Technology accelerator reignited .”) Today’s Innovation Now is a partnership between the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub), ICT Norway and Norad, bringing a new wave of momentum in the African innovation space.