A roadside assistance app cuts through Egypt’s traffic congestion

At a time when people feel the need to be extra safe due to the pandemic, Mayday, a startup by Egyptian entrepreneurs is a much-welcomed solution that is able to solve many car issues on the spot. (Supplied)
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Updated 24 July 2020
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A roadside assistance app cuts through Egypt’s traffic congestion

  • Cairo’s average waiting time for towing help is about two hours, with the prices variable and inflated
  • Mayday offers roadside assistance to over 30,000 clients through partners like banks and insurance companies

CAIRO: It is estimated that traffic issues in the capital Cairo alone cost Egypt’s economy $7 billion every year. This figure comprises health costs from air pollution; lost productivity due to extra time in traffic; and costs of road injuries and fatalities.

At a time when people feel the need to be extra safe due to the pandemic, Mayday, a startup by Egyptian entrepreneurs Mohamed Aboelfotouh, Islam Ahmed and Amr Essam, is a much-welcomed solution that is able to solve many car issues on the spot.

“We surveyed around 300 people to understand more about the market. People really welcomed the idea of an app to help them if they encountered roadside trouble,” Aboelfotouh, 34, said.

According to the survey, the average waiting time for towing help was around two hours, and the prices were always variable and inflated. People also highlighted safety concerns and the lack of proper customer care for such services.

“We wanted to create a platform in a similar model to ride-hailing apps, with a large network of providers,” Aboelfotouh added.

Mayday faced several roadblocks after its soft launch in November 2018. For starters, the service was available for only eight hours a day. Moreover, the initial subscription-based business model via the app proved unsuccessful as people did not know the company well enough to subscribe.




Mayday is a startup by Egyptian entrepreneurs Mohamed Aboelfotouh, Islam Ahmed and Amr Essam. (Supplied)

“We started exploring an on-demand option. So, we added a hotline to streamline the orders we get while keeping the app for subscriptions and businesses,” Aboelfotouh said.

When a person calls in, a Mayday agent responds, liaising between customers and tow truck drivers and then informing the caller of the estimated time of arrival and the service cost.

The hotline gradually became available 24 hours per day, but it was signing one of the country’s biggest ride-hailing companies as a client that pushed the company in the right direction in early 2019 and provided much-needed cash.

Mayday soon struck more deals and currently offers roadside assistance to over 30,000 clients through various business partners, from banks to insurance companies.

The official launch of the app was in January 2019, and Mayday soon expanded beyond servicing Cairo and Giza, currently offering its services across all highways nationwide.

Most of the service providers contracted by Mayday are tracked through GPS, with plans to include the rest soon.

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“Now, our platform has 1,200 service providers, between tow trucks, cars and motorbikes. If a person just needs a hand changing the tires, we can send a motorbike rider with the necessary tools to help in their backpack,” Aboelfotouh said.

Despite not offering significantly lower prices than independent tow truck operators, Mayday has kept growing in popularity because of its speedy service, quality control and fixed prices with no hidden fees. The company gets a commission from the orders, and its partners get to enjoy a steady flow of work through the company.

One of the main challenges Mayday encountered early on was hiring talented personnel to ensure this level of quality. The founding partners tackled the issue by creating a healthy work environment rather than opting for the grueling conditions imposed by many startups.

Despite not being completely reliant on the app, the company also faced some challenges with technology.

“In 2020, we’re investing in technology. We want our app to have an on-demand option, too. So, we’re releasing a new one in a few months,” Aboelfotouh said.

Mayday will leverage a recent six-figure investment to achieve that goal.

“We have a unique position to present our company as the go-to brand for roadside assistance in the country. One of the main areas where we plan on investing this money is in marketing and raising awareness about our brand and services.”

Commenting on other plans, Aboelfotouh said: “We’re considering adding simple maintenance services, like car checks and quick repairs while people are on the road. We also want to expand within the next few months. We’re currently exploring and meeting suppliers, as well as doing market research. Soon, we will have settled on our next market in a new country.”

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This report is being published by Arab News as a partner of the Middle East Exchange, which was launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Global Initiatives to reflect the vision of the UAE prime minister and ruler of Dubai to explore the possibility of changing the status of the Arab region.


UAE ship delivers 3,000 tonnes of relief supplies to Lebanon

Updated 10 sec ago
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UAE ship delivers 3,000 tonnes of relief supplies to Lebanon

  • Items include food, essentials for women and children, winter necessities

LONDON: The second aid ship from the UAE arrived at Beirut port on Sunday, carrying 3,000 tonnes of relief supplies as part of the UAE Stands with Lebanon campaign.

The UAE launched its campaign to support Lebanon last October as Israel’s war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah escalated in the south of the country.

Nasser Yassin, Lebanon’s environment minister and head of the government’s emergency committee, and Brig. Gen. Bassem Nabulsi, the chairman of the Supreme Relief Authority, received the ship at Beirut port.

Supplies included food, essentials for women and children, winter necessities, and shelter equipment, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Sultan Mohammed Al-Shamsi, the vice chairman of the UAE Aid Agency, said that the UAE’s moral obligation to support the Lebanese people “stems from the humanitarian legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, who dedicated himself to helping nations in need.”

The UAE announced its plan to reopen the embassy in Beirut following a phone call between the newly elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and the UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, on Saturday.

The leadership in Saudi Arabia welcomed the election of Aoun after a two-year political void in Lebanon. Riyadh has dedicated efforts to help the Lebanese people cope with the devastation caused by the Israeli war and has dispatched several aid planes since 2024.


King of Jordan meets Vatican secretary of state in Amman

Updated 12 January 2025
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King of Jordan meets Vatican secretary of state in Amman

  • Cardinal Pietro Parolin was in Jordan for the inauguration of the Church of John the Baptist
  • King Abdullah praises Pope Francis’s support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip

LONDON: King Abdullah of Jordan welcomed Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, at Al-Husseiniya Palace in Amman on Sunday.

King Abdullah sent his greetings to Pope Francis during a meeting attended by several senior royal advisers and aides. Cardinal Parolin thanked King Abdullah for his support and patronage of the Christian communities in Jordan.

The Jordanian king praised the pope’s support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who since late 2023 have suffered the effects of an Israeli military campaign.

They agreed on the need to stop Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, and increase the flow of humanitarian aid. They also warned of aggressive Israeli policies in occupied East Jerusalem and its effect on the Islamic and Christian holy sites, the Petra news agency reported.

Parolin on Friday attended the inauguration of the Church of John the Baptist on the east bank of the Jordan River.


15 killed in an explosion and fire at a gas station in central Yemen

An explosion at a gas station triggered a massive fire in central Yemen, killing at least 15 people, officials said Sunday.
Updated 12 January 2025
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15 killed in an explosion and fire at a gas station in central Yemen

  • At least 67 others were injured, including 40 in critical condition
  • Footage circulated online showing a massive fire that sent columns of smoke into the sky and left vehicles charred and burning

CAIRO: An explosion at a gas station triggered a massive fire in central Yemen, killing at least 15 people, health officials said Sunday.
The explosion occurred Saturday at the Zaher district in the province of Bayda, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said in a statement. At least 67 others were injured, including 40 in critical condition.
The ministry said rescue teams were searching for those reported missing. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the explosion.
Footage circulated online showing a massive fire that sent columns of smoke into the sky and left vehicles charred and burning.
Bayda is controlled by the Houthis, who have been at war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government for more than a decade.
Elsewhere in Bayda, the Houthis attacked and looted Hanaka Al-Masoud village in the Al-Qurayshiya district last week, according to the internationally recognized government. It said there were fatalities but gave no figures.
Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani said the attack came after a weeklong siege of the village.
“This horrific attack targeted citizens’ homes and mosques, and resulted in many casualties, including women and children, and the destruction of property,” he said.
Rights activist Riyadh Al-Dubai said the Houthis detained dozens of men and looted homes, seizing valuables such as gold, money, daggers and other possessions. He said shelling by the Houthis had continued relentlessly day and night for more than five days.
The US Embassy in Yemen condemned the attack, saying in a statement that the “deaths, injuries, and wrongful detentions of innocent Yemenis perpetrated by Houthi terrorists are depriving the Yemeni people of peace and a brighter future.”
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014, when the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s north, forcing the government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia. 
The war has killed more than 150,000 people including civilians and combatants, and in recent years deteriorated largely into a stalemate and caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.


Malala Yousafzai says ‘Israel has decimated the entire education system’ in Gaza

Updated 12 January 2025
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Malala Yousafzai says ‘Israel has decimated the entire education system’ in Gaza

  • Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai on Sunday said she would continue to call out Israel’s violations of international law and human rights in Gaza

ISLAMABAD: Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai on Sunday said she would continue to call out Israel’s violations of international law and human rights in Gaza.
The education advocate was speaking at a global summit on girls’ education in Muslim nations hosted by Pakistan and attended by representatives from dozens of countries.
“In Gaza, Israel has decimated the entire education system,” she said in an address to the conference.
“They have bombed all universities, destroyed more than 90 percent of schools, and indiscriminately attacked civilians sheltering in school buildings.
“I will continue to call out Israel’s violations of international law and human rights.”
Yousafzai was shot when she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl by Pakistani militants enraged by her education activism.
She made a remarkable recovery after being evacuated to the United Kingdom and went on to become the youngest ever Nobel Prize winner at the age of 17.
“Palestinian children have lost their lives and future. A Palestinian girl cannot have the future she deserves if her school is bombed and her family is killed,” she added.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
During the attack, Palestinian militants took 251 people hostage, of whom 94 remain in the Gaza Strip, including 34 the Israeli military has declared dead.
Israel’s attack on Gaza has killed 46,537 people, the majority civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory considered reliable by the United Nations.


Israel’s Netanyahu sends Mossad director to Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar

Updated 12 January 2025
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Israel’s Netanyahu sends Mossad director to Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar

  • His presence means high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved
  • Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of Israel's war on Gaza which has killed over 44,000

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s office announced the decision Saturday. It was not immediately clear when David Barnea would travel to Qatar’s capital, Doha, site of the latest round of indirect talks between Israel and the Hamas militant group. His presence means high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved.

Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of war, and that occurred in the earliest weeks of fighting. The talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly stalled since then.

Netanyahu has insisted on destroying Hamas’ ability to fight in Gaza. Hamas has insisted on a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the largely devastated territory. On Thursday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war.