Plentywaka accepted into Techstars Toronto accelerator program

Nigeria’s bus-hailing app, Plentywaka, announced that it has been accepted into Techstars Toronto accelerator program and it will use this opportunity to expand its services globally starting from Canada on or before the fourth quarter of 2021.

The “Uber-for-buses” startup will join nine other startups in the class of 2021 and secure funding from the accelerator as it prepares for global expansion.

The company also announced the launch of its interstate travel service where commuters can now purchase bus tickets from a variety of bus travel companies using the Plentywaka mobile App.

Launched in 2019 by Onyeka Akumah, Johnny Ena, John Shaibu, and Afolabi Oluseyi, Plentywaka has moved over 300,000 commuters through their daily commute across three states in Nigeria.

In 2020, it secured $300,000 seed funding from Microtraction, Niche Capital, and EMFATO and a partnership with Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing, Nigeria’s first indigenous automotive manufacturer.

Speaking about the new development, Onyeka Akumah, Co-Founder and CEO of Plentywaka says, “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”.

“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,” says Sunil Sharma Managing Director, Techstars Toronto

To kickstart its interstate service, Plentywaka has partnered with Libra Motors and 4 other players with a combined capacity of 300+ buses, moving Nigerians across 100 routes in Nigeria. With this partnership, commuters can now buy tickets to travel to their favorite cities all with the Plentywaka City-to-City service.

This is Onyeka Akumah’s second startup joining Techstars. In 2017, he took Farmcrowdy to Techstars Atlanta. In fact, Nigeria’s Farmcrowdy was the only African company in the 2017 Class of Techstars Atlanta.