bloXmoveNG: from Flagship Product to Franchise Model
Where do we come from?
Around a month ago, on the 19th of September, we communicated our bloXmoveNG adoption numbers and showed you that we were gaining traction in the market. We could proudly communicate having obtained over 500 verified drivers on the platform and over 2.000 potential passengers. The number of completed rides around that time was at approximately 750 rides.
A link to the news can be found here: https://x.com/BloXmove/status/1704187277574824262?s=20.
Short Evaluation
Since then, we found that our strategy was limiting our growth and our chance of succeeding. A small project like ours would never be able to defeat a giant like Bolt or Uber whose core strategy is crushing competition with their billions of investor money, offering free rides and operating at a loss for as long as it takes. We simply don’t have billions in the bank and would never be able to out-market our competitors with marketing and free rides.
Define our USP
What would distinguish us from our competitors? How could we offer a truly different solution to that what is being offered by Bolt or Uber? The answer to this is not that we distinguish ourselves by offering additional payment options (crypto payments), but it involves offering better ride conditions (fair pricing, proper safety measures etc.) to both drivers and passengers with the help of decentralization. If you do not want to become the next aggregator, you cannot keep full control like any centralized entity. So how do you then operate or market the mobility dApp?
These were the questions that were top of our mind over the past months and that led us to choose the approach laid out in this article. As we stated on the 6th of October (see: https://x.com/BloXmove/status/1710324378041221615?s=20), we see the strategy for bloXmoveNG and the mobility dApp as a whole, as a core component of the transition to a (semi-)DAO.
Solution: Franchise to local business entities
After thinking these questions through, we decided that the best way forward for bloXmove, would be to create a networlk of grassroot movements around the world consisting of individual drivers, mobility companies & driver unions.
We thought of two specific ways in which we can grow bloXmove’s mobility dApp in the real world: by creating truly decentralized driver communities (a grassroots approach) and by offering a Franchise Model to mobility companies/driver unions or other interested parties.
Our Cookbook for a Grassroot Franchise
Both the grassroots approach and the franchise model can be operated and built upon by people on the ground in any country or region around the world as we open-source our basic white label (flagship product) mobility dApp. This strategy aligns with our peaq partnership, where we offer our decentralized dApp as well: https://www.peaq.network/blog/bloxmove-joins-peaq-ecosystem.
To get this operational, we are producing a ‘Cookbook’ which describes all the necessary steps to get from our flagship/white label mobility dApp technology to a full-fledged mobility dApp in any region in the world. With this approach, we have a chance of sustaining and growing our mobility dApp all over the world, in a way that would not be possible by working with a single team or as an individual company.
Part of the Cookbook involves the help of our community, which is where the (semi-)DAO structure comes in. Community members can apply and participate by helping with the execution of tasks (quests) that contribute to the adoption of the white label dApp in targeted regions or countries. An example of this is community members approaching drivers or mobility companies, or a community member creating graphics or marketing material for an individual or company running our white label mobility dApp. Community members can get rewarded for this with tokens from the Foundation fund (token allocation per task based on votes via the DAO). Or, when the dApp is operational, via a compensation paid from the commission fees collected by the dApp operator/Franchise Taker.
Welcome our first Franchise Taker!
As you may have noticed, the daily number of rides taken since our previous publication in September dropped. The centralized approach and corresponding marketing promotions have been discontinued as the first and necessary step towards the Franchise model. The process to get to the launch of our dApp in general taught us a lot and showed us proof that our Flagship product works: passengers and drivers were connected via our dApp and rides were booked and completed! All this knowledge is included in the Cookbook and entails a great starting point for future partners and franchise takers.
This brings us to our collaboration with Mr. Joshua Joel Bako and Mr. Antipas Abalis Shingshak, two AUATON members based in Jos, Nigeria (AUATON stands for the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria, previously AUATWON). After consulting them on our application at several occasions, we came to the conclusion that they would form great Franchise Takers: they have the (driver) experience, the network (both in Jos and outside of Jos) and they know business in Nigeria.
Let’s hear it from our partners:
We can now proudly announce that Mr. Joshua Joel Bako and Mr. Antipas Abalis Shingshak are our first Franchise Takers and will help grow the bloXmoveNG dApp in Nigeria.
Presently, we are conducting the handover of the bloXmoveNG dApp. When that is complete, we will share more information on the next steps to be taken by them. Stay tuned!
Let’s now close with their statement:
“The concept of decentralized mobility is a great one. It is driver friendly and we are please to be part of this great innovation as franchise takers”
