Oluchi Chibuzor
Plentywaka, a bus-hailing solution startup in the country has announced a new investment from Techstars as it set its sights on global expansion.
Also, aside from the funding received, the startup will also join nine other startups in the Techstars Toronto accelerator program, Class of 2021.
Speaking about the new development, Co-Founder and CEO of Plentywaka, Onyeka Akumah, said, “We are very excited about this new investment to partner with Techstars. This is the second time a startup I founded will go through a Techstars accelerator program 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. This will also see us expanding globally to other countries, starting with a city in Canada on or before the fourth quarter of 2021”.
With new capital from Techstars and the launch of its interstate city-to-city services, Plentywaka said it is poised to provide the most affordable ‘uber-for-buses’ platform across Africa and the North American market.
To kickstart this service, the firm revealed it would be partnering with some major bus travel companies in Nigeria that has over 300 buses in their fleet along with four other players with a capacity of 2000+ buses plying over 100 routes across Nigeria.
On his part, Managing Director, Techstars Toronto, Sunil Sharma 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.”
Speaking on the new city-to-city service, President and Co-founder of Plentywaka, Johnny Ena, said, “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.”
