While Blockchain has been around for more than 14 years, to date its application on a mass scale has still been limited, this is why DRIFE with its first decentralized ride-hailing platform has gone live in Dubai UAE, to bring blockchain enabled applications to the masses.
Built on Sui Blockchain, DRIFE has gone live in Dubai with its pilot launch. The blockchain-enabled ride-hailing applications received its license earlier this year, two years after it began operations in India.
Cryptopolitan interviewed Firdosh Sheikh, founder and CEO of DRIFE, to learn more about how DRIFE is growing in the MENA region and making blockchain an invisible technology for commercial applications.
Firdosh Sheikh believes that both taxi drivers and their riders deserve a more transparent, secure, cost-effective system that benefits both parties.
According to Firdosh, it all started during an Uber ride to an airport in India. As Firdosh explains, “I have always been a user of taxis as my means of transportation starting early on when I moved to Delhi for my studies, and then afterwards in Bangalore while I was working as a financial analyst. Yet one midnight drive to an airport changed everything.”
It was on that evening that the Uber driver had asked her to cancel the trip telling her he would take her at a much lower price. Asking him why, she discovered that Uber was taking 35% commission leaving him with a profit of less than 50% after cost.
This is when Firdosh decided to create an application that would offer drivers the payment they deserve, while serving riders with transparency and quality.
The next billion users will not come from crypto projects
By offering a more transparent, fair, and direct relationship between the rider and driver, DRIFE is seeking to integrate blockchain seamlessly into people’s lives. Firdosh explains, “One of the main issues with blockchain is the lack of a wide user base, most blockchain projects are geared towards crypto rather than sectors such as transportation and others. The next billion user adoption will not be from crypto or trading projects but from real-life daily applications where the consumer isn’t even aware of the technology.”
DRIFE is trying to offer riders and drivers the freedom to decide how much to pay for a ride as well as how much to charge. This is a far cry from the current centralized digital model offered by the Ubers and Lyft’s of the world.
Firdosh explains, “A driver gets what he/she deserves instead of the platform deciding and taking the rest as commission which sometimes reached 45%.”
According to Firdosh, the crypto and blockchain community has complicated the industry forcing people to learn how to create wallets, and understand blockchain. She believes there needs to be a simple way to onboard users.
DRIFE goes live in Dubai
DRIFE is now live in its pilot phase with 1,000 drivers in Dubai. Soon it will go full-fledged live across Dubai.
Firdosh notes that UAE drivers who have already signed up with DRIFE are happy because they are getting the money they deserve. She notes, “I cannot at the moment make big generalizations since we are still in pilot phase, however we believe a happy driver equals a happy rider.”
She has noticed a difference between riders in India and in the UAE. Riders in the UAE care more about contributing to the life of these drivers given that most residents in Dubai are expats working to provide for their families back home, while riders in India care more about the cost of the ride and savings.
Where do you think is better?👀…Our drivers share all the reasons they love Dubai🙌🏻#drife #dubai #uae #dxb #cab #driver #ethical #quality #fyp #book #NewYork #London pic.twitter.com/7M2z4rqg28
— Drifeuae (@drifeuae) October 15, 2024
Blockchain transport apps are difficult to build
While many have tried to incorporate blockchain into the transportation sector, there are many entry barriers especially since the ride-hailing sector is complex, with more than one party involved.
According to Firdosh, ride-hailing apps are not a straightforward applications targeting consumers like social media platforms or crypto exchanges. Instead, they require integrating two parties, a driver and rider, as well as geolocation services and a matchmaking system between the two.
According to DRIFE, while crypto exchanges are only competing with others like them, Web3 blockchain ride-hailing apps are competing with companies like Uber, Lyft and Careem.
She explains, “When we are competing with Uber it is also about building a real world application.”
DRIFE riders enjoy safe trips, as all drivers are KYC verified, ensuring secure journeys through identity and vehicle verification.
DRIFE to integrate AED regulated stablecoins
As the UAE Central Bank recently announced the regulation of AED stablecoins, which can be used to pay for products and services within the country, DRIFE intends to integrate the AED stablecoin as a form of payment.
Sheikh explains, “By utilizing a regulated AED stablecoin in our DRIFE application we will be building the usage of stablecoins in the retail economy. This will also solve credit card commissions which at times reach 3.5% and take days for settlement.”
She believes that this will add a lot of value if and when implemented, as it will allow for instant payment settlement and make it more cost-effective, especially on a decentralized platform.
Future expansion plans
Outside of Dubai and the cities in India, DRIFE is looking to obtain licenses in Saudi Arabia, given the large market and the developments happening there.
Firdosh states, “We are exploring Saudi at the moment, while within Dubai we aim to grow our driver base from 1,000 to 5,000 by the end of this year.”
DRIFE also has plans to expand internationally into Europe.
