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Makani – My Place

LY / makani.ly

A revolutionary GPS navigation app set to change the lives of millions in Libya for the better

1 079 876

Registered addresses

75

Cities

1 265 625

Digital postal codes

Why Makani app is a revolutionary solution changing the lives of Libyans for the better

Background: The lack of addressing in Libya

Libya was facing an ever-growing problem – a lack of official addresses paralyzed the economy and stalled innovation. Our client Lamah decided to respond to this problem by creating Makani – a revolutionary GPS navigation app to change the lives of millions in Libya for the better. How?

They divided the biggest Libyan cities into multiple zones and designated each one an alphanumeric postal code. Then, they ascribed a unique number to each home and business. And that was just the beginning of the mapping revolution in Libya.

Lamah’s goal is to accelerate the digital development of Libyan society by providing incomparable innovative solutions. We’re happy that we can participate in this process by delivering digital products that bring our client’s ideas to life.

Our client’s goals:

  • To enable Libyans to accurately search and locate places using a digital map app.
  • Free installation and accessibility of the Makani app on mobile devices (Android and iOS).
  • Providing individual, digital codes instead of geographically descriptive addresses.
  • To make it easier for Libyan businesses to grow and connect, thanks to their presence on the digital map and being easily accessible for clients.

The idea behind the Makani app is one of a kind and unprecedented in Libya, where postal codes barely existed. To be in line with the common concept of addresses in other countries, our app provides individual/digital codes instead of geographically descriptive addresses.

Makani is a mapping revolution in Libya.

Solution: GPS navigation app that gives users detailed and clear addresses for places in Libya

We developed a GPS navigation app that gives users detailed and clear addresses for buildings in Libya, whether they are houses, governmental or private institutions, or even shops, markets, restaurants, and others. The first version of the app was publicly launched in December 2019.

Makani moves Libyans from the use of difficult descriptive addressing to smooth digital addressing and enables the navigation of geographical locations within the country. It helps users to locate places within their region through a digital map that allocates specific postal codes to almost all locations.

This is vital to this society, as they’ve been deprived of such amenity.

The app is available for free on any iOS or Android smartphone, making it finger-tip accessible. Makani is positively rated by its users – in the Apple store at 4.5, on Google 4.2.

In 3 months after launch, the map contains more than 1 200 000 addresses from nearly 75 cities in Libya. We are constantly developing new features. What’s more, the app’s users are adding new addresses. All in all, the Makani app is growing.

It’s worth stating that Makani brings many opportunities and benefits to businesses in Libya. By providing their addresses, companies are easily accessible to customers. Moreover, various government agencies can access and use their information in the e-government system.

The app does not exclude foreigners from having access to the app or making use of it. With businesses growing and thriving in many parts of the country, connectivity is essential.

We’re in the process of developing another navigation app for our client Lamah.

The scope of the project

UX/UI Design

According to our client’s guidelines, Makani looks the same on both Android and iOS platform. The app supports both dark and light modes, which makes the app user friendly.

What’s more, we’ve created many custom elements that gave the navigation app a unique character. Each category of icons has its own palette of colors that harmonize with each other.

We’re currently implementing a Shimmer skeleton to indicate a loading status.

Android & iOS app

We developed a revolutionary GPS navigation app that gives users detailed and clear addresses for places within Libya through a digital map that allocates specific postal codes to almost all locations.

Makani was publicly launched in December 2019. Now, we are improving the app by implementing new features.

4 months after launch, the map contains more than 1 223 873 addresses, from nearly 75 cities in Libya, and is positively rated by its users.

Backend

When it came to the API, our scope mainly focused on integrating the mobile apps with Lamah’s addressing data. Doing so was vital for synchronizing data and optimizing address data, which was used for API-based features such as search functionality and points of interest, as well as user-related features, like registrations and address suggestions.

The goal was to design scalable architecture which will allow us to work efficiently on new features, as well as to be prepared for the changes on our client’s addressing data system.

Key features

Offline map

Users can use the map offline. Search for addresses, display points on the map, add them to favorites, and much more without Internet access. It is a crucial feature due to conditions in Libya where the coverage and availability of the Internet are limited.

Mapping the route to a selected place

Users choose if they want to reach the address with a car, a bicycle, or on foot

Navigation to a selected address

Makani saves your time by providing you with the actual directions and information needed to find the shortest way to a desired location

Adding new addresses

Choose a point on the map and click to add an address. The app will generate a new address for this place!

Sharing addresses with other users

Users can share addresses and their location with friends through social media

The list of favorite addresses

You can save your favorite addresses and create your own directory for quick access when needed. You can also specify your home address.

Easy address search

Enjoy easy access to all places in Libya. Search for a specific address or click on an address where you want to be navigated.

Discover new places nearby

Makani is your comprehensive guide: it lets you discover new places – search for restaurants, hotels, gas stations, parking lots, schools, colleges, banks, pharmacies and other places nearby

Log in

Users log in with their phone number

App walkthrough video

Team

We were adjusting the team’s size according to our client’s needs

Makani

Ahmed Alkaloush

Scrum Master

Agnieszka Pazdro

Account Manager

Justyna Solarska

UX/ UI Design

Jakub Lorek

Android developers

Bartłomiej Osmałek
Michał Sikora

iOS Developers

Sebastian Osiński
Damian Włodarczyk

Backend developers

Jakub Janus
Bartosz Skuza

QA Engineer

Maciej Jaskulski

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Frequently Asked Questions

A navigation app is a location-based mobile app that determines your location on a map and navigates you with turn-by-turn directions in real-time to a chosen destination.

  • geolocation and navigation –  a map using the GPS system to locate objects is the basis of every navigation app. This allows determining a user’s location within a few meters. Navigation helps users to define the road to the point of destination.
  • voice instructions – thanks to detailing turn-by-turn voice instructions, a driver can focus on the driving instead of looking on to the map
  • authorization and user profile – the feature allows users to write a review about the ride, track the previous ride, communicate with other users, create favorites lists and more.
  • offline tracking – users can use the app without internet access.
  • payment services – you may cooperate with other businesses from your industry like car repairs or gas distribution. For example, they can offer you a mutually beneficial partnership – discounts or a cashback for users if they buy something using your app. This way, you can get reliable partners and an additional source of income.
  • integration with social media – improve user experience, make authorization easier, and share your localization through social media channels

There are 7 crucial stages of the navigation app development process from a business point of view:

  1. Clarifying the vision
  2. Choosing a partner
  3. Wireframes & Design
  4. Project Kick-off & Setup
  5. App development
  6. Release Preparation
  7. App Maintenance

Read more about every stage in our guide through the mobile app development process.

You’ve decided to make an app with a professional navigation app development company. The process of choosing the right partner may seem challenging for businesses or entrepreneurs, especially if you are doing it for the first time.

If you want to pick the best mobile app development company for your GPS navigation app, you’re probably wondering how to do that.

We recommend you to verify a few factors when considering cooperation with a navigation app development company. Here’s a checklist:

  • Check out their portfolio. Have they built products similar to yours? Do they have experience in working with companies from your industry?
  • Check their profile and clients’ reviews on Clutch.co
  • Ask for detailed information about the code. Will you have full ownership of the code created by the company? Will the code be hosted in code repositories like Bitbucket or Github? Make sure the code will be written in English.
  • Learn how they organize the process of navigation app development. What tools do they use? Do they work in Scrum or other Agile frameworks?
  • Consult the Independent Contractor Agreement with a lawyer before signing it.
  • Compare the estimation you get with the estimation from another company.

If you want to learn more about each of the above points, read our guide for businesses on how to choose the best mobile app development company.