Designed a trust-based carpooling app tailored to commuting culture in Maputo
Overview
Agoo is a self-initiated concept for a ride-sharing platform tailored to the realities of Maputo and Matola. Unlike generic global carpooling apps, Agoo was designed to solve problems specific to Mozambique’s commuting patterns, cultural nuances, and infrastructure challenges—making everyday travel more reliable, affordable, and eco-conscious.
Introduction
Maputo’s Commute Is Broken - And Carpooling Isn’t Working (Yet)
The Great Maputo Metropolitan Area faces major urban mobility issues: traffic congestion, overuse of private vehicles, and a lack of reliable, affordable public transport. While carpooling exists informally, it’s often untrustworthy and unstructured. Agoo imagines what a trustworthy, community-first carpooling solution could look like - one that encourages safer, more eco-friendly commuting without adding more cars to the road.
Problems & Challenges
Rebuilding Trust in a Broken Commute
Despite the rise in urban population and daily commuting in Maputo, transportation remains inefficient, uncoordinated, and heavily reliant on single-passenger private vehicles. People want better options, but safety, trust, and convenience remain barriers.
How might we create a carpooling system that users can actually trust?
How might we support flexible commuting without adding more cars?
How might we design for both individual privacy and collective efficiency?
How might we encourage adoption while addressing resistance from existing transport stakeholders?
Project Goals
Making Carpooling Practical, Trustworthy, and Scalable
Make ride-sharing feel trustworthy and flexible
Enable users to safely offer or request rides based on route, schedule, and preferences—while maintaining control over who they ride with.
Reduce transportation costs and traffic stress
By sharing and getting rides, the product allows commuters to save money and time while contributing to a greener, less congested city.
Create a sustainable, scalable mobility product for African cities
Design a platform that can expand urban mobility options, monetize through small ride commissions and premium services, and set a standard for eco-friendly commuting.
Solution
Ride-Sharing Rooted in Local Culture and Trust
I followed the Double Diamond design process to explore problems deeply and refine viable solutions. My work was grounded in research with two core user types: car owners and pedestrians commuting for work or school. I also analyzed competitive apps like Niteki and Bolt to define Agoo’s unique market position: trust-driven, not profit-driven. Wireframes, flows, and UI components were then developed and refined in Figma.
Interviewed users across Maputo and Matola to uncover pain points around cost, safety, and convenience;
Found that 39.3% of cars in the city have only one occupant - highlighting wasted potential for shared travel;
Identified user openness to semi-closed ride-sharing networks (e.g. within workplaces or schools);
Designed a modular ride setup system: set route, time, price, preferences, and vehicle;
Prioritized features like pre-screened users, saved routes, and reward points to increase repeat use.
Smart Route-Based Matching with Preferences
Users can define routes, set date/time, and apply filters (e.g. gender, behavior, noise level). They can also save frequent routes and see potential matches before confirming.
Dual-Sided Experience for Drivers and Riders
Drivers can post rides, manage bookings, and accept/reject requests. Riders can search for rides using filters, message drivers, and book with a tap - making the experience balanced and intuitive for both sides.
Trust and Privacy Built In from Day One
Agoo integrates ratings, optional profile visibility, and behavioral preferences (e.g. no music, female-only, etc.). Riders and drivers can accept or reject matches with no justification, preserving comfort and control.
Trust and Privacy Built In from Day One
Agoo integrates ratings, optional profile visibility, and behavioral preferences (e.g. no music, female-only, etc.). Riders and drivers can accept or reject matches with no justification, preserving comfort and control.
Trust and Privacy Built In from Day One
Agoo integrates ratings, optional profile visibility, and behavioral preferences (e.g. no music, female-only, etc.). Riders and drivers can accept or reject matches with no justification, preserving comfort and control.
Results
From Concept to Credible MVP Foundation
While Agoo hasn’t launched, it’s become a polished concept that demonstrates a market-ready foundation. The project showcases how a digital product can respond to local behaviors, bridge infrastructure gaps, and promote sustainability - all while staying user-first. It’s a prototype I’d be excited to build with the right partners or support.
Learnings
Design for Trust, or Nothing Works
Through this project, I learned that ride-sharing only works when trust is built into the design from the beginning - not as an add-on. Designing for real-world constraints like GPS unreliability, public skepticism, and cultural habits pushed me to go beyond UI polish and into systems thinking.