A fresh war amongst ride-hailing companies may be looming with multinational ride-hailing company, Bolt, raising €500 million ($530 million) to invest in Africa over the next two years as confirmed by the founder and CEO, Markus Villig.
This latest funding round, according to Villig, is expected to further expand the company’s ride-hailing and delivery services across the continent, including in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, and Tunisia.
With over 47 million users and 900,000 drivers, Bolt aims to leverage the new funding to create job opportunities for drivers and couriers across Africa.
What to expect
The new investment is expected to open up 300,000 new driving jobs across the continent, a significant development, especially at a time when many countries are grappling with economic challenges.
In recent years, Africa’s ride-hailing industry has witnessed tremendous growth, with the market expected to reach $4 billion by 2025.
While offering new opportunities for growth and expansion, the Villig-led company’s new funding will boost the company’s position in the market.
Opportunities in the ride-hailing industry
Africa’s large and growing population, that is quickly seeing rising urbanization, and increasing demand for on-demand transportation services, offers a remarkable opportunity for ride-hailing companies.
In what may rather seem like a looming war, Bolt’s investment in Africa is likely to have implications for its competitors, such as Uber, who have also been expanding their presence in the continent.
Bolt vs Uber
Uber, a rival of Bolt’s ride-sharing and food delivery business, has raised a total of $25.2B in funding over 32 rounds with their latest funding raised on Sep 14, 2020 from a Post-IPO Debt round.
Prior to the fresh round, Bolt’s last raised funding was in January, 2022 when the Estonian startup raised 628 million euros ($711.40 million) to take its valuation to 7.4 billion euros ($8.38 billion).
The future for Bolt
What is certain, however, is that Bolt’s latest funding will create new opportunities for drivers and couriers, which is poised to boost the company’s growth and expansion in Africa, and further fuel the growth of the ride-hailing industry in the continent.
