Shuttlers, a Nigerian shared mobility company that allows individual and corporate passengers to take rides on multiple bus routes via an app, has raised $4 million in a new funding round led by Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), a Pan-African focused venture capital firm.
Details On The Funding
The round featured participation from follow-on investors, including VestedWorld, which led the mobility startup’s $1.6 million round 18 months ago.
SheEquity, CMC 21 & Alsa, and EchoVC are the startup’s other backers in this round, which has seen the mobility company secure over $5.6 million in total venture backing.
Details On The Company
Shuttlers’ business primarily focuses on corporate trips and commutes. In Lagos, Africa’s most populous city.
CEO Damilola Olokesusi launched the startup in 2016 is provide partner companies, in Lagos and Abuja, with a bus-sharing platform with mobility options for their employees.
Employees can book seats on one of the buses along predetermined and scheduled routes. Shuttlers offers features including live bus tracking, optimal routing based on traffic, digital payments, and ride schedules.
It has three payment plans: Companies pay full fare for employees, companies split fares with employees, and individual customers — unaffiliated with any partner company — pay fares themselves. The fares range from N850 (~$1.96) and N1300 (~$2.60).
By The Numbers
- Currently, Shuttlers has nearly 260 buses that go through 300 routes across Lagos and Abuja daily.
- The company has a clientele of 80+ companies, including Interswitch, MainOne, and Paga, the company sells over 9,000 tickets daily to individual and corporate passengers — and recorded 3 million trips, per its website.
- The company claims that more than 70,000 users have taken a ride on its platform.
What They’re Saying
The company’s environmental impact is one reason why lead investor Verod-Kepple backed it, according to partner Ory Okolloh, who said in a statement, “[Shuttlers’] commitment to creating impact aligns with our vision for investing in entrepreneurs who are solving significant challenges and companies who have a positive impact on society.”
“Before our first funding, when we didn’t do marketing and PR, I think we had the highest market share in bus hailing and sharing space. But now, there’s no doubt that we are miles apart from the competition, in terms of the number of customers, the technology and routes,” Olokesusi said about Shuttlers’ position in Nigeria’s bus-hailing market.
We have built an infrastructure that allows us to expand into different geographies within and outside Nigeria and supports multiple stakeholders, from partners and drivers to marshals and administrative bodies. Our main focus is to take over the bus-sharing space and be this huge startup that, you know, is very profitable,” She added.
Source: Techcrunch
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