… Launches Inter-State Bus Service With Local Partners
Fortunes is still smiling at Nigerian tech startup, Plentywaka, as it bags yet another Investment portfolio from Techstarts in its bid to towards global expansion.
The transport-focused bus-hailing company, which was launched in 2019, gained market attention when, using technology, it successfully got over 300,000 rides within its first year of operation.
The startup, which was co-founded by Onyeka Akumah, Johnny Ena, John Shaibu, and Afolabi Oluseyi, will also join 9 other startups in the Techstars Toronto accelerator program, Class of 2021.
Speaking on the new development, Co-Founder and CEO, Onyeka Akumah said: “We are very excited about this new investment to partner with Techstars. This is the second time a startup I founded will go through a Techstars accelerator program and we are truly happy they have believed in our ability again to execute.
“The Plentywaka team will join the Techstars Toronto program to gain further funding, mentorship, and access to a rich network of entrepreneurs and experts in the travel industry. This will also see us expanding globally to other countries, starting with a city in Canada on or before the fourth quarter of 2021.”
Managing Director, Techstars Toronto, Sunil Sharma, said: “Our only goal is to leverage the broader ecosystem to support and grow these incredible companies. Techstars is the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, and strong partners and mentors help make this happen.”
Plentywaka has been able to raise prior seed funding of $300,000 from Microtraction, Niche Capital, and EMFATO in the year 2020, 18 months since it started its journey of moving commuters through their daily commute.
The trans-tech company also expanded its services into two other cities in Nigeria with its partnership with Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing to solidify its expansion plans.
Plentywaka has also taken another giant step to launch its inter-state service for Nigerians, where commuters travelling from one state to another within the country can now purchase discounted bus tickets from the Plentywaka mobile app.
To kick-start this service, Plentywaka would be partnering with some major bus travel companies in Nigeria including Libra Motors with over 300 buses in their fleet along with four other players with a capacity of 2000+ buses plying over 100 routes across Nigeria.
President and Co-founder of Plentywaka, Johnny Ena, while speaking on the new City-to-City service, said: “This is a major step towards developing a robust and reliable transport system in the country. We want to make the bus booking service a lot easier and accessible for over 20 million Nigerians that commute from one state to the other on a daily basis.
“We believe this would change inter-state commuting for not just stakeholders like bus-operators but also the riders themselves with more options.”
The company said that with new capital from Techstars, it has an eye for global expansion, and the launch of its interstate service (city-to-city), Plentywaka is poised for a blitz-scaling move to provide the most affordable ‘uber-for-buses’ platform across Africa and the North American market.
A source at the trans-tech firm disclosed that there is a growing interest from investors to participate in fuelling its growth plans and the company’s CEO, Onyeka Akumah says he is happy to welcome new investors who share a similar vision and hunger for scale as the company does.
