Enshika

Taxi booking that works without internet

Epitaph

“Here lies Enshika. It booked taxis over USSD so riders needed neither a smartphone nor a data bundle, and ran in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi. Its last app release was September 2019. The service that worked without the internet was finally erased by it.”

Overview

Born: 2017 (Year)
Died: September 2019 (Month)
Lifespan: 3 years
Fate: Dormant
Headquarters: 🇬🇭 Ghana
Category: Travel & Mobility
Primary cause: Unknown

Death certificate

Timeline

November 2017Enshika launches
Tech Labari reports the online taxi-booking app operating in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi with an 'Enshika points' rewards scheme and no surge pricing.
22 November 2018Launch of the data-free, USSD-based service
GhanaWeb reports Enshika launching a transport app usable without internet or a smartphone, with CEO Deepak Sachdeva and country manager Ebenezer Osei.
December 2018Enshika Transport begins operations
Daily Guide reports operations in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi with a loyalty and referral programme.
15 January 2019Positioned as a lifestyle app
MEA-Biz reports Enshika adding utility bill and school fee payments, an SOS button linked to police and fire services, and driver fuel credit and insurance.
October 2022Grouped with Ghana's departed ride-hailing 'copycats'
Tech Labari names Enshika among early local competitors and reports many have died or exited the market.

Autopsy report

Why did Enshika shut down?

Enshika was an online ride-booking service operating in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi, first reported by Tech Labari in December 2017 as having launched that November. It relaunched or expanded with a larger press push in late 2018 and January 2019 under group CEO Deepak Sachdeva and Ghana country manager Ebenezer Osei, pitching itself as a '100% Ghanaian brand' and claiming to be the first ride-hailing service in West and sub-Saharan Africa bookable by USSD, without a smartphone or a data connection. Tech Labari's October 2022 market review listed Enshika among the local competitors that emerged after Uber and said many of that group had died or exited the market; no source reports a specific closure, and enshika.com was still being captured by the Internet Archive as recently as March 2025.

What Enshika attempted

A ride-booking app plus USSD service for Ghana. It integrated traditional licensed taxis alongside private cars, offered Mini, Sedan and SUV vehicle classes, real-time tracking, an SOS button wired to the Ghana Police Service and Fire Service, and integration with the GhanaPost GPS digital address system. It ran an 'Enshika points' loyalty scheme redeemable at partner outlets, a referral programme using unique digital IDs, permanent discounts for students and corporate staff who registered with credentials, and an explicit no-surge-pricing policy. The later positioning was as a broader lifestyle app that would also handle utility bill and school fee payments. Drivers were offered daily fuel credit and insurance packages covering themselves and their families.

What worked

Operated in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi with apps on Google Play and the Apple App Store from late 2017. Launch events were staged at Accra Mall for the 2018 Christmas season. The company repeatedly said it was in talks to expand into West, Central and East Africa.

Early warning signs

Tech Labari's October 2022 review of Ghanaian ride-sharing named Enshika among the post-2016 local entrants and reported that many of that cohort had died or exited the market.

What happened

The passenger app com.enshika.passenger shipped its last release, version 2.3.7 (build 30), on 29 September 2019 (the prior two releases were 30 April and 9 April 2019) and its Google Play listing now returns 404, i.e. the app has been delisted. No press coverage of any kind exists after the January 2019 launch write-ups. The Internet Archive holds a single capture of enshika.com, on 26 March 2025, and the domain's current WHOIS record shows a creation date of 14 October 2025 with a Swedish registrar (Name SRS AB) behind a Shield Whois privacy service, which indicates the original registration lapsed and the name was re-registered.

Lessons for future builders

Taking the smartphone out of ride-hailing was a real insight for a market where most riders had none, and it still needed drivers, cars and cash to survive the wait. Being first at something cheap to copy buys less time than it feels like it should.