MOISÉS FREIRE- ETHICAL E-COMMERCE APP

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 munic- ipal 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 fties 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.

SIMPLE-TO-USE APP

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 May- or Oscar Santos, describes Freire’s Gilera Cheio innovation. The simple-to-use app, which is available on any smart- phone – 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.

By UNDP Africa Innovates 50 Homegrown African Innovations Tackling COVID-19.