Chicago-based VestedWorld in Nigerian bus transport deal
Nigerian scheduled bus sharing company, Shuttlers, announced a $1.6 million seed round and its plans to scale operations into other cities across Africa. This new investment round was led by VestedWorld, a Chicago and Africa-based investment firm, with other investors including Interswitch, Rising Tide Africa, Launch Africa, EchoVC, ShEquity, Five35 and Consonance Investment Managers.
With Shuttlers, customers now have the option to commute in comfort and at an affordable rate on scheduled and predetermined routes. With the subscription feature on Shuttlers, commuters can schedule rides in advance over a period of time they choose.
Commuters can also book trips along fixed routes at 80% lower rates than other ride-hailing services without surges and peak-period pricing.
Damilola Olokesusi, co-founder and CEO of Shuttlers, launched the company in 2016 to tackle the problem of inefficient transportation in cities like Lagos. Olokesusi and her team have since bootstrapped the business and grown it from one route in Ajah to Victoria Island to over 30 routes with over 300 bus stops.
Olokesusi stated: “Our mission at Shuttlers is to transform the way people commute around the world, by building a global partner network and connecting communities of shuttlers like we are presently doing in Lagos, Nigeria. The negative impact of inefficiencies in the mobility space is visible in the quality of life, mental health, and work productivity of commuters. We also see its impact on the more vulnerable and neglected population in our society: women, children, physically challenged, and the elderly. I’m confident that our smart mobility solutions can solve some of these urban mobility challenges sustainably and also reduce carbon emissions.
Nneka Eze, managing director at VestedWorld said, “We believe our investment will help Shuttlers extend its offering to adjacent markets and help solve inefficiencies in the transportation sector across regions in Africa.”
The company will invest this round into scaling its operations to other cities across Nigeria, before expanding to other regions in Africa. The company will also look to improve and ease its processes and solve existing inefficiencies with access to more technological solutions.
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