SWVL To Splash Ksh 1.5 Bn In The Kenyan Market For Expansion

Cairo-headquartered transportation startup SWVL has made known that it will pump Ksh 1.5 Bn into Kenya as they further expand their market.

The funding will be channeled to enhance SWVL’s current operations as well as enable them to scale the business into other towns and routes.

Mostafa Kandil, the bus-hailing firm’s co-founder and CEO announced this while addressing the press in Nairobi on Thursday morning.

“Kenya is a market with a need for a stable solution for the perennial traffic snarl-ups and SWVL believes that we can be of great benefit to the local consumer and the transport sector as a whole,” said Mr. Kandil.

He added that SWVL is thrilled to provide a solution that makes the lives of Kenyans easier whilst proving beneficial to the Kenyan transport sector.

SWVL launched its Kenyan operations in February 2019 and then, it plied only four routes. Six months after launch, the firm has increased its routes to fifty-five routes. The bus booking startup is now looking to add more routes both within Nairobi as well as outside the Kenyan capital.

“I believe the potential for growth and value creation is tremendous and given the different entities providing varied solutions, we are looking to fill a gap that has yet to be sufficiently covered by what is already available. That is what has prompted us to expand our route offering to match the convenience of ride-hailing services but at the same time matching the capacity provided by the traditional matatu industry for an even larger customer base than we have before”, said Shivachi Muleji, SWVL’s General Manager for Kenya.

Muleji noted that the investment will boost job creation as well as support government efforts to provide quality public transport.

The first six months of the company’s operations had actually been a pilot phase, and the move to increase their investment and the routes they operate in is seen as the official launch of their services locally.

The startup recently closed its USD 42 Mn Series B-2 funding led by BECO Capital and Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures. The capital injection increased the company’s valuation to USD 150 Mn, making it among the best-funded start-ups in the region.

SWVL is a Cairo-based transportation start-up allowing riders to hail shuttles operating on fixed routes and timings from their mobile phones.

The startup has expanded its market and currently operates in four cities: Cairo, Alexandria, Nairobi, and Lahore.

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