Skip to main content

Final call for Africa mobility projects

UK firms have until 21 August to pitch ideas for challenges in South Africa and Kenya
By Adam Hill August 7, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
Johannesburg: urban transport challenges (© Michael Turner | Dreamstime.com)

UK companies are being invited to address urban challenges - including transport - in South Africa and Kenya in a programme from Connected Places Catapult.

Urban Links Africa (ULA) aims to bring together Kenyan, South African and UK tech ecosystems "through equitable partnerships, collaboration and long-term investment in order to improve citizens’ lives".

Companies are invited to submit ideas to improve urban mobility in Johannesburg, South Africa, and to work on traffic management and active mobility in the Kenyan cities of Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu. 

The ULA open call is on until 21 August, with an emphasis on the formation of consortia to address problems.

Nadia Echchihab, global commercial team lead, Connected Places Catapult, told ITS International: "Every day we have new people signing up to the platform to submit an application and we're still helping them to find the right match."

Successful partnerships are eligible to receive up to £25,000 for ideas and up to £40,000 for more mature projects.

As travel is restricted by the coronavirus pandemic, Echchihab adds: "All the solutions development phase will happen remotely via the collaboration platform, so this is why we have really invested in it - it's not just a boring website." 

Tools are available to facilitate collaboration and brainstorming, she says.

Click here for more information and to sign up until 21 August.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • UITP launches Mobility for Life
    September 22, 2021
    Campaign seeks to emphasise the importance of public transport for everyday living
  • South Africa launches electric vehicle pilot programme
    February 28, 2013
    South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has launched a zero emission electric vehicle pilot programme, which would see it trial a fleet of electric vehicles. Speaking at the launch, water and environmental affairs minister Edna Molewa said the multi-stakeholder partnership project would pilot, test and demonstrate the viability of electric vehicles under South African conditions. The pilot programme would also serve to determine end-user, infrastructure and running costs associated with loc
  • Syracuse models post-industrial revival for US cities
    August 13, 2015
    A connective corridor in Syracuse, New York State, could be a model for other post-industrial cities, as David Crawford discovers. The aim of the city of Syracuse’ 5.6km-long Connective Corridor in Onandaga County in upstate New York is to create a model ‘complete street’ for use in wider regeneration schemes. Key transport-sector components are traffic calming, high-quality transit with accessible passenger information, plus walkability and bike-friendliness.
  • Mobile payment technologies for Australia
    October 11, 2016
    Contactless technology, the ability to tap your bank issued card or enabled mobile device to make a payment, has brought speed and simplicity to the in-store shopping experience. Doug Howe explains how innovations, like Contactless, in the mobile and banking industries have the potential to transform public transportation. Q Why is public transportation ripe for transformation? A Today, more than half the world’s population lives in cities; that’s a figure set to increase to 70% by 2050. International