Plentywaka has announced that it has fully acquired Stabus, one of Ghana’s leading mobility startups to expand its operations in Africa.
Plentywaka’s acquisition of Stabus comes in the wake of announcing its seed round of $1.2 million, after successfully ending the Techstars Toronto Accelerator Programme in July 2021.
The Xchange, a Toronto-based fund, led the seed round while Techstars followed on its previous investment in Plentywaka to participate in the funding round.
Onyeka Akumah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Plentywaka, in a statement in Lagos on Monday said that acquisition of Stabus affirmed the commitment of plentywaka to grow and build the largest shared mobility startup in Africa.
He said that the such expansion philosophy was targeting one country at a time.
“In addition to our work in Ghana, we are also happy about the progress we’ve made in Nigeria to scale our `Dailywaka’ service that provides bus-stop to bus-stop transportation service for thousands of commuters.
“Stabus’ Co-Founder, Isidore Kpotufe, would become the Country Manager of Plentywaka Ghana and would be joined by the current team of Stabus.
“Today, we have moved close to half a million people.
“That’s a credit to the effort of my team, our heroes (a term used to describe Plentywaka drivers), and our investors who continue to believe and support our growth with their investments.
“With our Travelwaka service, we have been able to cater for interstate travelers across 21 cities in Nigeria; we are looking to expanding to more cities as new bus partners sign up with us,” he said.
Todd Finch, Founder and Managing Partner of The Xchange, said that the organisation was on a mission to fuel purpose-driven founders with the capital and resources they need to realise their world-changing potential.
The Xchange is the lead investor in the seed round.
“Given Onyeka’s proven track record, his team’s undeniable thirst for making an impact and Plentywaka’s impressive growth we knew this was an opportunity we wanted to invest in.
“We are excited to support Plentywaka with the resources it needs to realise the full potential of the vision to change the African transport ecosystem.
“We have been most impressed with Plentywaka’s human-centered approach, putting the drivers as the heroes of the story while creating an exceptional passenger experience.
“We are committed to supporting the vision of Plentywaka, its founders and its journey for many years to come,” he added.
Also speaking, Sunil Sharma, Managing Director, Techstars Toronto, said, “We are incredibly excited by our investment in Plentywaka.
“Techstars is a huge believer in the future of Africa and a proud supporter of African entrepreneurs,” he noted