SWVL, the Cairo-based transportation startup company has plans to establish a new market in Lagos, Nigeria. The plans to expand to Lagos was revealed after SWVL put out a vacancy for a new Country General Manager in Nigeria. The company proposes to launch transport services with 50 buses in July.
Buoyed by its impressive growth rate in Egypt and Kenya, transport-tech startup @swvlapp is now preparing to win over the commuters in Nigeria. 👏🚌https://t.co/gfwopaFvuh
— StartUp Bahrain (@startupbahrain) June 11, 2019
Founded in 2018 by Mostafa Kandil, Mahmoud Nouh, and Ahmed Sabbah, SWVL operates in more than 200 routes in Egypt, between Alexandria and Cairo. They raised more than $30 million in 2018 and rolled out Kenya operations in February 2019. They have plans to expand services to Manila, Dakar, and Jakarta before the end of the year.
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SWVL is about to face bad roads and heavy traffic conditions in Lagos. The other ride-hailing companies offering pooling services in Nigeria are indigenous companies like Jekalo, Gidi Cab, and Oga Taxi, allowing people heading the same direction share a ride. Bolt and Uber, with the largest customer base in the country, will pose bigger competition.
SWVL’s competitive advantage is that it offers an app-based mass transit system that enables riders to share fixed-route bus rides for a flat rate. Buses arrive at the time suggested by the app and the app alerts the riders to drop as they approach their destination.
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