Intercity-Bus Booking Startup Lagare.ma Impressed Investors In 30 Seconds, Landed USD 217 K Funding
Morocco-based bus booking platform Lagare.ma has landed USD 217 K from an international private equity group. The investment will be used to accelerate growth in Morocco as well as to expand the company footprint to other African countries with major gaps in their transport networks, thus rendering scope for improvement. As of now, the startup is eyeing Tunisia, Cameroon, Egypt amongst others.
The platform allows users to find, compare and book inter-city bus tickets online. It has struck partnerships with more than 60 transportation companies, whose vehicles run in all direction to more than 150 destinations across the nation, as well as to 7 European destinations including Germany, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.
Founded in 2014, the company has a web-based platform that is available in more than 7 languages and also mobile apps. The team is currently 5-strong.
Issam Darui, the 23-year-old founder & CEO of Lagare.ma said “A few months ago I found myself in Mauritius in front of a panel of investors, I had a really memorable experience and very similar to a TV show called Shark Tank… 30 seconds was enough to attract the investor’s attention, and after 2 days of meetings, I raised 2 million dirhams funds for my startup.” He won the “Outstanding Young African Entrepreneur of the Year” award at the 2017 African Awards for Entrepreneurship.
