Plentywaka, Nigeria’s first digital bus-hailing startup, is set to expand globally following its acceptance into the Techstars Toronto accelerator programme for the class of 2021 along with nine other startups.
Since its launch in 2019, 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 has also expanded its services into two other cities in Nigeria, partnering with Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing to solidify its expansion plans.
Onyeka Akumah, co-founder and CEO of Plentywaka, said this is an opportunity for the startup to commence its global expansion and also improve the transport structure of the country through a rich network of entrepreneurs and experts in the travel industry.
“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,” Akumah 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,” said Sunil Sharma, managing director, Techstars Toronto.
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Furthermore, 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 via its mobile app.
In addition to this, commuters have the luxury of choosing their preferred bus transportation company from the list of partners listed on the Plentywaka app from the comfort of their homes.
Therefore the startup will be partnering with some major bus travel companies in Nigeria including Libra Motors with no less than 300 buses in their fleet along with four other players with a capacity of over 2,000 buses plying over 100 routes across Nigeria.
Speaking on the new city-to-city service, Johnny Ena, president and co-founder of Plentywaka, said it was 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,” Ena said.
With new capital from Techstars, an eye for global expansion, and the launch of its interstate service (city-to-city), Plentywaka is poised for a fast-growing move to provide the most affordable ‘uber-for-buses’ platform across Africa and the North American market.
Akumah noted that there is a growing interest from investors to participate in fueling its growth plans and the company is happy to welcome new investors who share a similar vision and hunger for scale as the company does.
