A local startup is helping digital taxi drivers rent vehicles for a maximum of four years, allowing them to obtain maximum returns.

Currently, most taxi-hailing drivers earn a daily commission from car owners, limiting their income freedom. 

Ndai Africa buys vehicles and loans them to drivers for a period of between 36 and 48 months.

If the agreed-upon terms are met, the vehicle ownership rights are transferred to the driver.

"Drivers sign a drive-to-own contract which states that once a certain amount of money is remitted weekly, within a span of 36 to 48 months, they will have paid for the vehicle and the logbook is transferred to their name," says the firm's growth director Abedi Muange. 

He adds that this solves many problems because the driver deals with Ndai Africa and not with the vehicle owner.

The drivers also handle vehicles better because they know that once the payment is done, the vehicle will become theirs.

"They remit to us the same amount they would remit to vehicle owners. Only that in this instance, they are paying to own the vehicles. Ndai Africa removes the role of the middleman,'' he told the Star. 

The firm is now targeting over 50,000 online taxi drivers in the country even as the industry data shows the digital taxi-hailing business is expected to grow at eight percent this year.

The latest sector report displays stark differences between drivers who owned their own cars and those (51 per cent who rented cars from partners.

Most drivers (88 per cent) considered digital driving their main source of income, but they also liked that the relative flexibility of driving allowed them to layer other income-earning opportunities onto this base.

According to the report, only eight per cent of drivers working for partners earn above the hourly minimum wage (Sh165). Only about half of those who owned their own cars were.

Drivers typically worked long hours each week (about 60 at the median) to make up for low hourly earnings.

Those working for partners and paying loans worked especially long hours to pay for their fixed vehicle costs and have something to take home.

Since Ndal Africa officially opened its doors, it has received over 1,000 applications from drivers who want to "drive to own".

"We have vetted 912 drivers who have qualified and they are waiting for us to deliver the vehicles,'' Muange said. 

"If we get the vehicles today, we are ready to transition these drivers into potential vehicle owners. So far, we have leased 219 vehicles,'' Abedi says. 

The mobility industry in Africa is faced with multiple challenges. While the US has 800 USA vehicles per capita, Africa has 44 per capita.

The firm is attempting to fill a wide finance gap for small traders in the continent, with at least $331 billion needed for SMEs in Africa and $20 billion for Kenya.