PickMe

PickMe is a taxi hailing app based on Sri Lanka developed and maintained by Digital Mobility Solutions (Pvt) Ltd headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The app is currently available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone platforms. A passenger can download app from the respective app store and install it. When a taxi is requested, it would be diverted to the nearest driver via PickMe's servers where the driver would reach the passenger's location and pick up the passenger. Currently, PickMe has tuks, mini cars and hybrid cars on their fleet. Also, the app is available in all 3 languages ^[1]

History

A serial entrepreneur counting 16 years of founding and successfully running several technology-based ventures, Jiffry Zulfer is the founding CEO of PickMe. Prior to PickMe, he contributed as CTO and part of the founding management of anything.lk which was re-branded as wow.lk after being acquired by Dialog Axiata PLC due to its increasing success, again as a first of its kind in the e-commerce market. Crediting his talent as a driving force in "technopreneurship" Zulfer was awarded the ICTA Young IT Professional Award (May 2016) and FCCISL Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (April 2014). An avid traveler and ambitious young geek Zulfer felt the need to build a technology in Sri Lanka for hailing taxis similar to those that were successfully revolutionizing the taxi industry around the world.

As a first step Zulfer approached his fellows in the local ICT space and explored the possibility of developing the technology. He was lucky to know and meet the right people at the right time, for he soon had a skilled young team embarked on the task of developing Sri Lanka's own taxi hailing app. Once the prototype was ready Zulfer approached Ajit Gunerwardene who is a celebrated businessman in the country and also is the deputy chairman of John Keells Holdings PLC. who gave him 15 minutes to pitch the idea. Ajit says that 15 minutes later he was sold. Joining Ajit were Ruchi Gunewardene and a few other private investors including Interblocks Ltd., Lanka Orix information Technology Services Ltd. , H Capital (PVT) Ltd., MAS Capital (PVT) Ltd. Ajit Gunewardene is now chairman of PickMe.

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