By Gcina Ntsaluba
After losing their jobs at Woolworths Digital in April, Malusi Mbulwana-Barnard and his co-founder, Palesa Mjali, turned unemployment into an opportunity to address a transportation challenge they were all too familiar with: connecting rural South African communities to affordable long-distance travel.
HIKA, a ride-sharing platform that takes its name from the colloquial term “ukuhiker” (hitchhiking). Two weeks after launch, the startup is already positioning itself as a solution for journeys that the big e-hailing services don’t adequately serve.
Born from personal frustration
“We both had to travel from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape, and I was complaining about how much it cost to get from King Phalo Airport in East London to Engcobo when you hire a car since there is no direct transportation,” Mbulwana-Barnard explains.
Mjali shared similar struggles getting to Mthatha from the same airport.
The conversation sparked an idea based on platforms they’d seen in France and Berlin, particularly BlaBlaCar. But this wouldn’t be another Uber clone for urban markets.
“Uber and the likes work in the big cities, but for 200km-plus trips it stops being feasible, and that’s generally the average distance between cities ePhondweni,” says Mbulwana-Barnard. “This is the gap we are trying to fill.”
A different model
Unlike traditional e-hailing services, HIKA operates on a simpler premise that doesn’t require intensive driver onboarding. “I’m driving from Gqeberha to East London anyway, I have three seats available and room for a package, then post these on our platform,” Mbulwana-Barnard explains. “We focus mainly on the regular guy who wants to save a buck and meet new people.”
The platform currently targets the Eastern Cape, focusing on routes along the N10 from Gqeberha to the N2 and N6. Research revealed surprising demand: over 1 400 daily Facebook posts from people offering and searching for rides between these key points.
“Having had to travel between Cape Town and Makhanda as a student at Rhodes, my hope is that the platform makes it easier to find affordable modes to go home at end of term,” Mbulwana-Barnard said.
Built in a month with AI
The technology behind HIKA is as innovative as its business model. The entire web application was built in just one month using AI-powered development tools, without traditional developers, designers, or database analysts.
“We managed to build a web app in a month, without developers, designers, database analysts, architects and testers. All simply using prompts for all the customer journeys and code,” Mbulwana-Barnard says. “This is all due to the power of AI.”
Both founders bring relevant experience to the venture. Mbulwana-Barnard and Mjali hold Bachelor of Commerce degrees and previously worked as business analysts, product owners, and product managers in banking, financial services, and retail.
“We’ve basically been running products as a business but for other people — corporate bosses,” said Mbulwana-Barnard. “HIKA was a no-brainer. We applied the very same concepts and skills that were critical to our jobs.”
Complex challenges
Safety remains the biggest concern. The founders are raising funding to implement Know Your Customer solutions that verify users through Home Affairs records and integrate digital payment gateways. For now, the beta version operates on cash payments while they gather user data.
“We’ve curated the journeys to such simplicity that my 78-year-old mother can use it,” Mbulwana-Barnard said.
Taxi associations present another significant challenge. “Our biggest concern is taxi associations in the Eastern Cape,” he admits. “We are two weeks old and are still trying to find our feet. Our hope is also to have a higher volume of student-to-student rides while we figure out this concern and what routes to avoid and work with local law enforcement.”
Future Vision
After discovering they’re no longer eligible for NYDA funding — both founders are over 35 — they’ve turned to angel investors and accelerator programmes. The platform remains free during this data-gathering phase.
“In order for that to succeed, we need to show the numbers,” Mbulwana-Barnard explains. “The platform is basically ‘free’ for everyone for us to gather enough data on how many and how people use the platform, as our assumptions are most likely wrong.”
Revenue diversification is already planned, including advertising space and partnerships with organisations like EC Tourism, rather than relying solely on commission fees.
The vision extends beyond ride-sharing. “We are passionate about catering for subsistence farmers in the province by expanding the platform for that marketplace,” Mbulwana-Barnard said.
Positioning for growth
Mbulwana-Barnard sees HIKA competing more directly with taxi drivers than with Uber in rural areas, but with added convenience and affordability through technology. The goal is to make the platform ubiquitous in the Eastern Cape, encouraging more people to opt for tech-enabled solutions.
“When you have commission-only as your only source of income, you will come across problems,” he said about balancing affordability with fair compensation. “Hence we have started looking for other revenue streams.”
For two entrepreneurs who found themselves unemployed due to “economic pressures” and the ease of cutting contractors, HIKA represents both a personal lifeline and a potential solution for thousands of South Africans in underserved communities. Whether they become “AI millionaires,” as Mbulwana-Barnard jokingly suggests, remains to be seen. But they’re already making the journey easier for rural travelers across the Eastern Cape.
When it’s time to plan a trip, go to https://hika.co.za/
