Treepz Launches Treepz Kenya; Raises $1.2m to Expand its Mobility Business in Africa
Treepz, a leading mobility startup in Africa, has just announced the official launch of its operations in Kenya. This comes after the company made strategic investments to raise an additional $1.2 million over the past year.
GIIG Africa Fund, MoAngels, Roselake VC, Unpopular VC, Goodwater Capital, and BKR Capital have invested in Treepz in recent months. Treepz’s current investors ShockVentures, Winston Limited led by the Lynch Brothers, Aston Investments, and Novum Actus led by Clara Ogunsemi made follow-on investments.
Formerly known as Plentywaka, the company entered the East African market with the acquisition of Ugabus, a bus company based in Uganda, which then had 70% of all bus operators in Ugandan cities.
Treepz shared with Innovation Village that it plans to launch Treepz Kenya first in Nairobi and later in Mombasa. The team is also excited to welcome Mr. Samar Patel as the new Country Manager for Treepz Kenya. Mr. Patel has been in sales, transportation, and technology for over 18 years and most recently worked in a similar capacity for SWVL Kenya. There is high anticipation that Treepz Kenya, now under his direction, will grow and innovate in the region.
Recently, the company’s recent efforts have been directed squarely at the vehicle rental service, which it calls Business Treepz. As a result, Treepz Kenya has partnered with a few “high-profile companies” to provide commuting services for their employees or students.
The companies told us there are twenty major deals in the works across Kenya, and they involve well-known companies like Twiga Foods, Abacus Schools, OAK House School, and Diamond Trust Bank.
Treepz is confident that the increasing demand shown by these partnerships will continue as it expands its sphere of influence and the scope of its innovative solutions, especially in the area of vehicle rental services for businesses.
Co-Founder and CEO Onyeka Akumah of Treepz made the following statement during the press release:
“We are thrilled by the addition of Samar to our team and the launch of Treepz Kenya in Nairobi today. This was made possible with the support we received from our current investors amid a turbulent 2022. Also, after winning the GSA African Award in Cape Town last year, we received funding from its funding arm – GIIG Africa Fund and that was also very timely for us. Today, our efforts are focused on building a centralized solution across the 4 countries we operate in and providing Africans with excellent mobility services, for their personal and business needs. We hope this will be the experience Kenyans will enjoy with our service and remember, as we build a world-class mobility business for Africans and the rest of the world”.
Treepz received an investment from the GIIG Africa Fund after being named the Africa Winner in the ‘IndustrialTech’ category at the 2022 African Startup Awards, the largest independent startup ecosystem competition on the continent and the exclusive vehicle for the GIIG Africa Fund to find, fund, and scale Africa’s most innovative startups with Sustainable Development Goal-aligned solutions.
Therefore, this makes GIIG Africa one of Treepz’s many investment partners, along with Techstars, Google, Orbit Startups, LoftyInc, Niche Capital, ODBA, Microtraction, Cross fund, Uncovered Funds, and Jedar Capital, among others.
Investor interest in mobility technology has been growing rapidly in recent years, even though it is not as well-known as other sectors like fintech.
Partech’s most recent ‘Africa Tech Venture Capital’ report found that in 2022, the sector attracted US$ 195 million (or 4 percent) of total funding for African startups, tying it with health-tech (US$181 million) and surpassing ed-tech (US$97 million) and agri-tech (US$86 million). This number is anticipated to rise in light of the increasing demand for transportation caused by Africa’s rapidly expanding urbanization and rapidly expanding middle class.
Jo Griffiths, the co-founder of GIIG Africa, argues that transnational developments like the African Continental Free Trade Area must also be considered.
“These policies will result in a significant increase in the movement of people, goods, and services – and as such – there’s going to be an even greater demand in the coming years for mobility solutions built for the African context. As investors, we’re excited to be working with the team behind Treepz because we see mobility tech as a key enabling factor for Africa’s socioeconomic growth. For now, we look forward to supporting their efforts aimed at empowering Kenyan commuters,” he further deliberated.
Griffiths adds that the next round of the African Startup Awards is now accepting applications; innovators from all over the continent are encouraged to apply by February 26, 2023, for a chance to receive funding from the GIIG Africa Fund in an effort to hasten the positive effect of technology on African growth.
