Queenstown-based technology company Tapp has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign to enable it to scale up its taxi app operation.
The company was established in late 2013 by three Queenstown residents who had all worked as taxi drivers.
They developed a phone app called Tapp a Taxi to make hailing a taxi easier for both passenger and driver, through connecting both parties.
Tapp was hoping to raise a minimum of $250,000 and a maximum of $1 million through its PledgeMe campaign.
It was looking to scale up its operation and build partnerships with taxi companies throughout New Zealand, while taxi companies in Colombia were already looking to use its system, chief executive Simon Haslett said.
Tapp's business plan estimated the New Zealand taxi market to be worth $599 million, with close to 8000 taxis registered, an average total taxi fare per ride of $26 and 23 million rides a year.
For now, the company's sights were set on obtaining 10% of the annual taxi rides undertaken within the New Zealand market, equating to nearly $60 million of collected revenue on which it made a 2% margin.
It aimed to be in a position to pay dividends within two years.
PledgeMe chief executive Anna Guenther said Tapp was aiming to change the way taxis were booked.
The company had personal experience in the inefficiencies of the current system and had come up with a scalable way to address those ''pain points'', she said.
