Mozambican startup AllTrack is using mobile technology to secure users’ vehicles against theft, and growing in popularity as a result.
A runner-up at the recent Seedstars World event in Maputo, the idea for AllTrack was born two years ago when co-founder Americo Chaquisse was in the process of buying a car.
“I was worried about my car security and the available market solutions at that time were expensive and didn’t give me the possibility of controlling my car myself, or integrate their solutions with other hardware devices. So i decided to build my own solution,” he said.
That solution was AllTrack, a software solution to car security. The software allows users to track their cars using their mobile phone, and get notified about almost everything that happens with the car: when the ignition is turned on, when doors are opened, or when it is going above the speed limit.
“In the worst case scenario, the user is allowed to block the car, cutting oil and power. All that can be done by using a smartphone,” Chaquisse said.
AllTrack installs a GPS device inside the car, as well as sensors in various parts of the vehicle. These are then connected to its servers via a SIM card, while the user is provided with a mobile app.
It already has 100 active users of the platform, which Chaquisse believes is due to the fact AllTrack is preventative against theft rather than just a tool that helps with such a situation after the event.
“The providers that are operating in the same area are focused on having military strength to recover a car when is stolen. We are focused on developing software tools and giving them to the user to prevent it happening,” he said.
“It has been an amazing experience, people like our product and it makes us proud to know that we are giving security to people.”
The self-funded AllTrack is currently operating only in Maputo, but already has clients that came for another provinces of Mozambique looking for its services.
“We are working to expand our products to all provinces of the country, and we are also working on partnerships outside Mozambique with people that want to resell the AllTrack platform,” Chaquisse said.
For the first year, users pay only for installation and the software, but from the second year they pay an annual licence fee. Chaquisse said the upfront cost was a challenge to some customers, with AllTrack looking to address this issue.
“They think that it is expensive, but we are already looking for partners and investors so will be able to split that cost into small amounts to make the customers more comfortable,” he said.
