By Minh Thu

A group of young transport workers has released a free application connecting cargo owners and ship owners. They quit transport jobs paying high salaries to develop the application for cargo owners and shippers, and pioneer a new business.

The first of its kind, the application is helping to develop inland waterway transport by smoothing out cargo problems.

Working in the field of transport, Phạm Thanh Tùng, Nguyễn Đức Chính, Huỳnh Thanh Huy, Nguyễn Thành Trung and Lê Văn Nhiều shared a dream of contributing to cargo transportation.

They had stable lives and good jobs. However, in 2015, they decided to quit their jobs to better their chance of earning more money by founding their own company.

Spokesman for the group, Tùng, said they realised there were many difficulties surrounding inland waterway transport in Việt Nam.

“Before launching our trading platform, we spent a lot of time researching and penetrating the market,” said Tùng.

“We realise that there are many places where we cannot find goods to carry, but there are also many places that are struggling to find ships for transport.”

The start-up created Izifix, an application to help transporters find clients, develop waterway transport and create jobs.

App stars: Founders of the Izifix application (from left) Huỳnh Thanh Huy, Phạm Thanh Tùng, Nguyễn Đức Chính and Nguyễn Thành Trung. Photo courtesy of Phạm Thanh Tùng

They founded a professional company named Izifix to provide a new inland waterway transport service.

“No need to work hard to find a partner (or a cargo owner or a transport service supplier), with the modern and rapid development of internet technology nowadays, users just need a smartphone to find partners in a simple and efficient way,” said Tùng.

There is no need to spend time or money, the service is completely free, which helps businesses increase their profits. The application can be accessed on computers and tablets with a simple interface.

“According to the Ministry of Transport, inland waterway transport is one of the five most important modes of transport in our country,” said Tùng.

“Inland waterway transport not only plays a major role in transporting large volumes of goods and passengers, but also contributes to ensuring social security and national defence.”

“As a pioneer in building a transport trading floor in the country, inland waterway services at Izifix is a key service,” said Tùng.

Hoàng Minh Tuân, director of the SAP Company, said applications like Izifix were made for customers to communicate easily between carriers and cargo owners.

“When we have big cargos which old partners couldn’t ship, we use Izifix to find suitable shippers. It’s also a place we can compare prices between ship owners.”

By 2020, inland waterway transport will account for 17.72 per cent of the entire transport sector of Việt Nam. VNS