Business Post Contributor
By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
Nigerian bus hailing startup, Plentywaka, has secured $1.2 million in a seed round to expand its current reach as the provider of a better and safer transportation system for daily commuters in Lagos and Nigeria at large.
The round was led by Canadian Venture Capitalist, The Xchange. Other investors engaged in the seed round were SOSV and Shock Ventures, a follow-on investment from Techstars Toronto and angel investors from Canada, the United States, and several African countries.
It was not restricted to foreign investors as some Nigerian firms also took part in the seed round including Argentil Capital Partners, a boutique investment banking firm, as well as ODBA & Co Ventures.
In addition, the mobility startup also acquired the Ghanaian mobility platform, Stabus, to expand its services to Nigeria’s West African neighbour, Ghana.
This means that the Ghanian-based platform will now become Plentywaka Ghana, while its co-founder, Isidore Kpotufe, has been appointed as the new Country Manager of Plentywaka Ghana.
The development is coming after Stabus’ goal aligns with Plentywaka’s desire to scale up its operations and build a common goal, rather than competing.
Stabus was launched in 2019 and is said to have over 100,000 customers in its database in Accra, Ghana of which MTN Ghana and GB Foods are among its clientele.
The acquisition will see the teaming up of Stabus’ current workers with Plentywaka to help achieve the goal of providing safe and affordable transportation services as its services across Ghana will kick off on Thursday, September 16, 2021.
The acquisition, coupled with the fresh funds raised from its seed round, is considered as one of the strides made by the bus-hailing startup since its inception.
Recall that Business Post had reported two months ago that Plentywaka partnered with a leading interstate transport company, GUO, to expand both companies’ travel offerings.
The partnership saw GUO enabled its ticket booking on the Plentywaka app, therefore, joining its interstate travel network, Travelwaka. It also saw the on-boarding of 600 new buses from GUO onto its platform, leading to the opening up of new routes on the Travelwaka platform.
