When Mounia Dimane missed a very important meeting because of traffic she noticed that she was not alone. “I looked at the traffic jam and noticed that most of the cars were being used by one person; the driver himself. The high occupancy rate of vehicles made me thinking of why we couldn’t place more people in the same car; this would reduce traffic, save fuel and time.” Mounia a computer science engineer shared her idea with her colleague Zakaria Alkabbab and together they thought of starting a carpooling website called “Markoub”.
With the increased fuel prices, congestion and limited parking spaces now more than ever is there a pressing need for alternative transportation solutions says Mounia. Markoub is a location-based social network of collaborative transportation. In addition to carpooling and alternative package/parcel delivery, Markoub users can create and organize private or public events (forums, exhibitions, sports competitions, festivals, etc.) and invite the members of the community to join them. Users can also make ride sharing groups, by theme (e.g. Mountain tours, ski weekends, salsa lovers, football tournaments, etc.) or by organization (e.g. high school, university, college, company, etc.) and organize private events within these groups. Similar to other carpooling sites users can book their seats online and get in touch with people with whom they will share the ride in advance, by checking their profiles and chatting with them. Markoub’s mission is to make carpooling a common practice among Moroccans and hopefully the entire region through its reliable and free platform.
“Being part of the MIT Arab startup competition is in itself rewarding because you realize that you are not alone and that your ideas are supported by someone. We realize that we have a long way to go but we are confident that the competition will offer us knowledge, expertise and a chance to showcase our idea in front of the region’s leading entrepreneurs and investors.” Says Mounia.
Markoub will attend a two day workshop in Qatar in April 25 along with 49 other teams, where they will receive coaching, training and network with other entrepreneurs from the Arab region and meet the region’s major players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Semi-finalist ideas or startups in ICT, digital media, and mobile will automatically qualify for the Oasis 500 training and acceleration program http://www.oasis500.com/ , which is a six-day training program that covers all business aspects, including business modeling, financials, pitching, facilitation and marketing.