e-swarbhimani awards empower local entrepreneurs - The Pickme Story
The annual e-swabhimani national awards, an initiative of the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) has a long and rich tradition of recognising and promoting digital innovation which has a positive impact on society.
Pickme, a technology developed by Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka (Pvt) Ltd was the proud winner of the prestigious ‘e-swabhimani 2016‘ award under the Inclusion & Empowerment category.
Established as Sri Lanka’s most innovative taxi-hailing app and a game changer, Pickme has revolutionised the traditional taxi industry. To-date, Pickme has the largest vehicle fleet in Sri Lanka with over 12,000 enlisted drivers and one million registered users.
The e-swabhimani award recognised Pickme’s long term vision to change the existing taxi ecosystem through empowering and uplifting the profession of driving taxis through its driver app. Pickme also received commendation for the app at the UN World Summit Awards (WSA), which promotes the world’s best digital content.
Despite the country having high literacy statistics, Pickme soon realised most taxi-drivers encountered proficiency issues. To overcome and help the profession, the entirely home-grown awarding winning Pickme driver app was developed featuring unique buttons – similar to traffic light indicators, circumventing any concerns drivers had in understanding and reading instructions.
Additionally, the driver app showcased a unique feature, a real-time meter, previously nonexistent among existing global taxi-hailing services.
Commenting on receiving the award Pickme CEO Jiffrey Zulfer said, “To be recognised and receive commendation from a government appointed institute such as ICTA was an honour. We have been recognised as digital innovators however we understand that we are offering a social service in addition to providing a better transportation system and empowering our drivers, and with it affecting allied social economic dynamics and communities. The award also showcases the achievements of our highly sort after homegrown talent in software engineering.”
Winning the award has strengthened Pickme’s resolve to further work towards empowering their drivers. As an extension of empowering the drivers economically, a financial system has also been developed to enable them to maintain a log sheet of their earnings, building a solid financial foundation and practical money management strategies.
Taking the industry forward, Pickme continues to work with local universities to develop its platform promoting digital innovation mindful of creating a positive impact on society and the encouragement of young entrepreneurship.