Traffic project wins Google innovation contest

EGYPT

Team Bey’olak has won the Start with Google Competition, which sought the most innovative online entrepreneurs.

Bey’olak was named winner after a final day of presentations before the judges.

The nationwide competition launched in September 2011 travelled the country to find the most innovative online entrepreneurs. The projects covered a range of products including websites, mobile applications, and online services. More than 4,000 applicants entered Start with Google competition and culminated this month.

The six person team “Bey’olak”  is a community based traffic information service aiming to keep track of the status on all major roads in Cairo and Alexandria.

The success is based on the active cooperation of all the members in providing information regarding traffic conditions through crowd sourcing live.

“Bey’olak was an idea that came to us from being frustrated with the traffic in Egypt,” say the team members.

We created the mobile application so that users can contribute in live traffic reports to avoid further bottlenecks and delays. The application is popular because its user friendly language makes it compelling and fun for users,” said founder Gamal El Din Sadek.

Google’s VP of SEEMEA, Mohammad Gawdat said “this is a crucial moment for Egypt and competitions like this inspire us to take ownership in building the new Egypt to solve real problems using the Internet. There are 20 winners here today, not just one. Every idea that was developed tells a great story of the ingenuity and innovation that exists here - I am truly inspired.”