Africa innovates Magazine -AI4DEV - Flipbook - Page 34
AFRICA INNOVATES
M O I S É S F R E I R E ( C a p e Ve r d e )
E T H I C A L E - C O M M E RC E A P P
Created by young Cape Verdean
innovator, Moisés Freire, Gilera
Cheio is an online sales and home
delivery app for products and services, aimed mostly at helping older
women during the pandemic.
Since its creation in 1924, the Mercado do Plateau municipal market, located in the historic center of the Praia, has
played an essential role in the lives of women who earn
their living by trading goods in the market. Many come
from the interior of the island and have been selling their
products this way for years.
When the COVID-19 outbreak hit the Mercado do
Plateau, market women, more so those in their fifties or
over, were rightly asked to stay home. But at the same
time access to the market for them, buyers and sellers was
also restricted, affecting the livelihood of the women and
their families.
S I M P L E - TO - U S E A P P
To address this socio-economic difficulty Moisés Freire, a
young Cape Verdean innovator, created Gilera Cheio – an
online sales and home delivery app for products and services. Gilera Cheio has proven to be a multi-pronged initiative,
not only helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but it
ameliorates the effects of the pandemic on market women
who would otherwise have been severely affected.
“This solution came at the right time.” is how Praia Mayor Oscar Santos, describes Freire’s Gilera Cheio innovation.
The simple-to-use app, which is available on any smartphone – Android and IOS,– has enabled the public to still
purchase from the market women remotely, and have
products delivered directly to their homes. This has also
helped maintain an age-old tradition. Also laudable is Gilera
Cheio’s emphasis on using environmentally friendly e-bikes
for distribution and delivery.
34 SHOWCASING AFRICAN INNOVATION
GILERA
FOR THE
