Nigerian shared mobility company Shuttlers has raised $4m in a funding round led by Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV).
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Other investors that participated in the round include VestedWorld, SheEquity, CMC 21 & Alsa, and EchoVC, bringing the total amount of venture backing raised by Shuttlers to over $5.6m.
The company offers a bus-sharing platform for partner companies in Lagos and Abuja, enabling employees to book seats on one of the buses running on predetermined and scheduled routes. The service has three payment plans: companies pay full fare for employees, companies split fares with employees, and unaffiliated individuals pay their fares themselves.
Shuttlers’ growth has been rapid, with the company currently operating nearly 260 buses on 300 routes across Lagos and Abuja daily, up from over 100 buses on 30 routes back in November 2021.
The company has more than 80 clients, including Interswitch, MainOne and Paga, and sells over 9,000 tickets daily to both individual and corporate passengers. According to its website, the company has recorded 3 million B2B trips, has 70,000 users and half that number have taken a ride on its platform.
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CEO Damilola Olokesusi said the latest funding round would help the company expand its infrastructure to power its mass transit business, enable employee transportation for more corporates, increase market share and ramp up hiring in sales, marketing and customer support departments.
“We are thrilled to have Verrod Kepple, Vested Word, CMC 21 & Alsa, and SheEquity as partners in our mission to transform passenger transportation in Nigeria. This additional funding will allow us to build the infrastructure we need to power mass transit and expand our reach to more communities in Nigeria,” Olokesusi said.
Olokesusi added that the company was now miles ahead of its competition in terms of the number of customers, technology and routes. Shuttlers intends to go live in five other Nigerian cities by next year.
Shuttlers’ business model aims to encourage more people to take public transportation and reduce private car ownership, contributing to a decrease in pollution and congestion.
The company claims to have reduced its commuters’ carbon footprint by 85%, or around 4 million pounds of carbon dioxide emission. Verod-Kepple partner Ory Okolloh said the company’s commitment to creating an impact was why the firm backed it.
Shuttlers’ seed round, which the company secured after four years of bootstrapping and processing over $1m in transactions, enabled it to improve its technology.
“We are excited to support Shuttlers in their mission to provide safe, reliable, and affordable transportation to Nigerians,” said Ory Okolloh, Managing Partner at VKav. “Their commitment to creating impact aligns with our vision for investing in companies that impact society positively. We look forward to working closely with Shuttlers to help them achieve their goals.”
“We believe that Shuttlers has the potential to transform the way people move around the world. VestedWorld has invested in nearly 30 companies in East and West Africa and we are proud to be a continued partner in Shuttlers’ journey.” said Nneka Eze, General Partner at VestedWorld.
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