“Plentywaka”, the ‘uber-for-buses’ startup in Nigeria, has announced a new investment from Techstars as it sets its sights on global expansion after a successful one year of moving over 300,000 riders in Nigeria.
“Plentywaka” is Nigeria’s first bus-hailing app that offers commuters comfort, safety and convenience in their daily rides.
The app directs one on how to go about their journey both within the state and inter-state with buses or even uber.
Mr. Onyeka Akumah, the CEO and Co-Founder of ”Plentywaka” made this announcement in a statement signed by the company’s Public Relations Officer, Precious Okhimamhe.
Akumah said that ”Plentywaka” was launched in 2019 and it focused on providing comfort and convenience to daily commuters using technology.
“We are very excited about this new investment to partner with Techstars.
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“This is the second time a startup I founded will go through a Techstars accelerator programme 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,” he said.
Akumah said that the development would also see the company expanding globally to other countries, starting with a city in Canada on or before the fourth quarter of 2021.
“The trans-tech company has been able to raise prior seed funding of $300,000 from Microtraction, Niche Capital, and EMFATO in the year 2020.
“Plentywaka” also expanded its services into two other cities in Nigeria with its partnership with Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing to solidify its expansion plans.
“Today, ”Plentywaka” has taken another giant step to launch its city-to-city service for Nigerians, where commuters traveling from one state to another within the country can now purchase discounted bus tickets from the Plentywaka mobile app,” Akumah said.
Also, Mr Johnny Ena, President, ”Plentywaka”, said that the added feature gives commuters the luxury of choosing their preferred bus transportation company on the ”Plentywaka” app from the comfort of their homes.
Ena said that ”Plentywaka” would be partnering some major bus travel companies in Nigeria including Libra Motors with over 300 buses in their fleet to kick-start the service.
“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,” he said.
Mr Sunil Sharma, the Managing Director of Techstars, Toronto, Canada, said that Techstars was the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, and strong partners and mentors help make this happen
“Our only goal is to leverage the broader ecosystem to support and grow these incredible companies,” Sharma said. (NAN)