Plentywaka, a mobility startup based in Lagos and Toronto, has raised $1.2 million to expand its operations. This seed round was initiated after Plentywaka graduated from the Techstars Toronto accelerator program.
The round was led by The Xchange, a Canadian VC firm. SOSV and Shock Ventures also participated. Techstars Toronto made a follow up investment. Along with angel investors from Canada and other parts of Africa and the U.S., the seed round included participation by Nigerian companies Argentil Capital Partners, ODBA & co Ventures, and Argentil Capital Partners.
Onyeka Akumah, the CEO of Plentywaka, stated that the company, which was two years old, aimed to expand both locally and globally. The company established its headquarters in Canada, but there hasn't been much progress on the former. The acquisition will be used for the former. Although the company claims it has acquired 100% of Stabus, a Ghanaian mobility startup, the company declined to comment on its acquisition price.
Plentywaka is primarily an online bus booking platform, but it also lists over 900 vehicles, ranging from buses to vans to cars. It offers intrastate travel via its Dailywaka service and interstate travel via its Travelwaka service. Users can access the company's mobile app through a mobile device. Plentywaka claims that it has over 80,000 users and completed more than half a million rides since its launch in September 2019.
Stabus began operations in Ghana one month after Plentywakas launch. Isidore Kotufe, the co-founder and CEO of the startup, said that it has moved more than 100,000 people in Accra, the capital, since then using different vehicles.
TechCrunch's Akumah says that he and Kpotufe had kept in touch on a personal level and on a business level before talks about an acquisition began. They launched their respective businesses two years ago.
Isidore was intrigued by the speed at which Plentywaka was growing and asked Akumah whether his company plans to expand to Ghana. Plentywaka CEO, Akumah, answered yes and revealed a timeline that was advancing towards the end. This meant that there was competition. However, the duo believed that merging would be a better outcome for the companies.
I've known Isidore for over two years. I've seen his work with Stabus, and I know how they operate. TechCrunch was happy to accept this offer from Akumah.
There were two options: keep the Stabus brand, or change it. They settled on the latter and renamed the 12,000-user business to Plentywaka Ghana. Multinationals such as GB Foods and MTN are some of Stabus' (now Plentywaka) customers. Kpotufe is now the Country Manager for the new company.
Plentywaka's acquisition of Stabus is a clear statement about our commitment in building and growing the largest shared mobility startup Africa, one country at time. Akumah stated that Isidore, a brilliant entrepreneur, and that we are thrilled to have him and his team implement our plans for Ghanaian markets.
The company serves travelers in 21 cities across Nigeria. Plentywaka Ghana will go live in September 16 and the service will be available to Accra-based travelers. The next step after Accra is to expand the service in six other African countries within 24 month. Akumah mentioned that Plentywaka has raised its Series A to increase these expansion efforts.
Our investment in Plentywaka is a great success. Techstars is an ardent believer in Africa's future and proudly supports African entrepreneurs. Sunil Sharma, Techstars managing director, stated that Onyeka is a twice-founder of Techstars which further strengthens the relationship.
Todd Finch, managing partner of The Xchange and lead investor, spoke about the seed round. He said that The Xchange was on a mission "to fuel purpose-driven founders with capital and resources necessary to realize their visions." We knew we wanted to invest because of Onyeka's track record and Plentywaka's remarkable growth.
