On-demand startup, Bolt, raises $182m to expand in Europe and Africa

Estonian based on-demand startup, Bolt, has raised €150 million ($182 million at current rates) in an equity round to expand its operations in Europe and Africa.

The round was led by D1 Capital Partners with participation from Darsan Capital Partners.

Bolt (formerly known as Taxify) was founded by Markus Villig in 2013. It currently operates in 200 cities in 40 countries with its delivery and transportation services and claims it has 50 million customers using its services.

According to CEO and co-founder Markus Villig in a interview with Techcrunch, “This round was the first time we raised with most of the previous round still in the bank, despite the pressures of Covid.” “This shows the frugality of the company. Due to lockdowns, we were not as aggressive as we would have liked to be, so financially we are now in a very good position for 2021.”

Markus confirms that Bolt is doing about €2 billion in GMV currently annually.

“We are excited to partner with Bolt as they continue to build a market-leading mobility platform across Europe and Africa,” said Dan Sundheim, founder of D1 Capital, in a statement. “The team has executed incredibly well during a challenging year and continues to provide millions of users with safety, flexibility and great value. We are optimistic about the growth opportunity ahead for Bolt after the COVID-19 pandemic and look forward to supporting the team as they invest in innovation over the coming years.”

In Nigeria, Bolt launched operations in 10 cities this year bringing the total number of cities to 21. The cities launched in 2020 are: Jos, Ilorin, Aba, Kaduna, Zaria, Onitsha, Asaba, Makurdi, Akure and Warri.