Kai Senegal, a Senegal-based transport solution, has received investment from Mobility 54 Investment SAS-the corporate venture capital (“CVC”) subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho Corporation and CFAO SAS.
Founded in 2018, Kai Senegal aims to revolutionise the transport industry in Senegal which is largely informal. The company is based on three pillars: 1) a fleet management solution to buy and maintain good quality vehicles, 2) a digital ride-hailing app to connect customers with drivers, and 3) a financing scheme to turn taxis into an asset investment class allowing private owners and institutional investors to purchase cars as an asset and to get a regular payback with interest.
Kai wants to centralize what has been to date a very fragmented market and aims to renew the fleet of vehicles to offer private individuals as well as corporate clients a good quality transport service at a reasonable price.
The ride-hailing app will allow for both a more efficient pickup service and transparent pricing, while the financial scheme will allow to increase the quality of cars and therefore the security of the passengers.
The company already operates in Senegal and is planning to expand into additional countries across West Africa by the end of 2022.
Through Mobility 54’s participation, the Toyota Tsusho/CFAO group aims to support local innovative solutions to confront the many challenges facing public transport in West African countries such as poor quality of service, insecurity, and road congestion.
Mobility 54 will aim at leveraging its vast network in French-speaking West Africa to provide Kai Senegal with good quality products as well as after-sales services across the different brands of the group and the partners it has in the area. Finally, the service will also be promoted internally as it provides a turnkey solution for employee mobility.
