Swvl, an Egyptian app for booking buses, has raised $42 million as it prepares to debut in Lagos and finalise arrangements for expansion into other parts of Africa.
The investment is from venture-capital firms including Sweden’s Vostok, Dubai-based BECO Capital, China’s MSA and Endeavor Catalyst, based in New York, Oman’s OTF Jasoor Ventures, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Kuwait’s Arzan VC, Dubai-based Bluestone, San Francisco-based Autotech, and Property Finder’s CEO Michael Lahyani joining in.
The startup which was founded in 2017 by Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh, started in Cairo and also operates in Alexandria and Nairobi in Kenya and its services will be available in Lagos by mid-July with 50 buses.
The startup last year had said that it plans to be in seven megacities by the end of 2019 including many in Southeast Asia but has apparently changed its plans to focus on Africa for now.
https://www.techawk.com.ng/2019/06/09/egypts-leading-bus-booking-startup-swvl-set/
Uber and Careem have both launched bus services in Cairo in the past year. Along with Swvl, they’re exploiting growing demand among the city’s 20 million people for transport options that are cheaper than taxis but more convenient than public buses, which are often perceived as unreliable and dangerous.
This new funding adds to the US$30 million funding Swvl raised in November last year, led by BECO Capital and DiGAME. With Swvl launching in Lagos Nigeria, it has the likes of Staff Bus, Shuttlers, and Zeno to compete and contend with.
