Nigeria’s bus-hailing service provider, PlentyWaka has been admitted into the Techstars Accelerator Program, a global platform for investment and innovation, where founders connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders and corporations to grow their companies.
This new development, which will allow PlentyWaka to join 9 other startups in the Techstars Toronto accelerator program, Class of 2021, is coming as the startup sets its sights on global expansion after a successful one year of moving over 300,000 riders in Nigeria.
“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,” announced Onyeka Akumah, Co-Founder and CEO of Plentywaka.
PlentyWaka, the ‘uber-for-buses’ startup in Nigeria that is focused on providing comfort and convenience to daily commuters using technology, was launched in 2019 by Onyeka Akumah, Johnny Ena, John Shaibu, and Afolabi Oluseyi
Speaking on why PlentyWaka was accepted into the program, Sunil Sharma Managing Director, Techstars Toronto 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”.
18 months since Plentywaka started its journey of moving commuters through their daily commute, 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 also expanded its services into two other cities in Nigeria with its partnership with Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing to solidify its expansion plans.
Today, 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 from the Plentywaka mobile app.
With this added feature, 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. To kickstart this service, Plentywaka would be partnering with some major bus travel companies in Nigeria including Libra Motors with over 300 buses in their fleet along with 4 other players with a capacity of 2000+ buses plying over 100 routes across Nigeria.
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 blitzscaling move to provide the most affordable ‘uber-for-buses’ platform across Africa and the North American market.
