If you ask a random big city resident about their city’s main problem, it’s very likely that their response will be the traffic. With more and more cars driving city streets at the same rush hours, traffic jams have become a huge part of people’s routines. Enter Wasalny, Egypt’s first new app since 2010.

A community-based app, Wasalny utilizes GPS technology to measure car speed and provide real-time traffic updates. Wasalny also allows its users to report information regarding traffic conditions, alerting other drivers about traffic jams, accidents, or road construction. Finally, Wasalny also provides alternative routes to save its users’ time, energy, and fuel. As Wamda has reported, these unique features differentiate Wasalny from any other regional traffic app.

I had a chat with senior developer Shady Ahmed ElYaski and product manager Adham Mowafy about Wasalny’s current status and their expansion plans at the 2013 WebIt Congress in Istanbul. According to ElYaski, Wasalny is currently targeting people living in Middle East, especially Egypt, who currently have no other traffic application or automated solution available to them. ElYaski claims that Wasalny is the only way that people in this region can detect road status on their daily commutes.

Adham Mowafy also mentions their collaboration with the Kuwaiti government. When Wasalny was being prepared for launch, Kuwaiti leaders showed great support for the venture, installing the app on the electronic devices of every police officer and providing access to every billboards in Kuwait City to allow for real time traffic information.

A new version of Wasalny was released in the first week of November. Describing the differences in the new version, ElYaski claims that the new version expands its geographical targets to Kuwait. Another bit of news is that Wasalny has started a partnership with Etisalat Misr, one of the major mobile operators in Egypt. After the success of this partnership, they’re looking for similar partnerships with mobile operators in other markets as a way to access new customers

A possible new market on Wasalny’s radar is Turkey, given Mowafy and ElYaski’s experience with Istanbul traffic: Mowafy insists that “Istanbul needs Wasalny as a traffic application.”