Bridging Africa's addressing gap
In many African cities, most streets have no name and most homes have no number. This is not just an inconvenience - it is a barrier to economic development, emergency services, and everyday life. Oolel Maps exists to change that.
Our Mission
Oolel Maps is on a mission to create a comprehensive, community-driven addressing system for Africa. We believe that everyone deserves to have an address - a way to be found, to receive deliveries, to call for help and be reached. Our platform empowers local communities to map their own neighborhoods, creating a living, breathing address database that grows more accurate every day.
Why Oolel?
"Oolel" comes from Pulaar, a language spoken across West Africa. It means "echo" - because an address is a voice that carries, a way to be heard and to be found. Without an address, you cannot receive mail, register a business, prove where you live, or get emergency services to your door.
Our Approach
We take a community-first approach. Rather than imposing addresses from the top down, we let local residents contribute the landmarks, street names, and address descriptions that people actually use. This means our maps reflect real-world navigation - the way a taxi driver gives directions, the way a neighbor describes their home.
Built in Africa, for Africa
Our team is based in Mauritania and Senegal. We understand the challenges of navigating African cities firsthand because we live them every day. We are engineers, designers, and community organizers united by a simple belief: technology should serve everyone, not just those in well-mapped parts of the world.
Join Us
Whether you are a user looking for better navigation, a contributor wanting to map your neighborhood, or a developer interested in our API - we would love to have you. Together, we can put every African community on the map.
Join Us
Whether you are a user looking for better navigation, a contributor wanting to map your neighborhood, or a developer interested in our API - we would love to have you. Together, we can put every African community on the map.