Plentywaka raises $1.2m; acquires Ghana’s Stabus

Nigerian shared mobility platform Plentywaka has raised $1.2 million in a funding round led by Canadian-based VC firm The Xchange. Other participants in the round include SOSV, Shock Ventures, Techstars Toronto, Argentil Capital Partners, ODBA & Co Ventures and angel investors from Canada, other parts of Africa, and the U.S.

Launched and going live in 2019 by Onyeka Akumah, Johnny Ena, John Shaibu, and Afolabi Oluseyi, Plentywaka says it has acquired over 80,000 users while completing up to half a million rides.

In March 2021, Plentywaka announced that it had been accepted into Techstars Toronto accelerator program and it would use this opportunity to expand its services globally starting from Canada on or before the fourth quarter of 2021

The startup also announced the acquisition of Ghanaian mobility startup Stabus. Launched on November 1, 2019, in Accra, Ghana, by its Co-Founder, Isidore Kpotufe, Stabus has completed more than 8,000 trips, moved over 100,000 people and paid our vehicle partners over $120,000 in revenue.

With this acquisition, Stabus would be renamed Plentywaka Ghana and it will be officially launched in Accra on the 16th September, 2021. Isidore Kpotufe will become the Country Manager of Plentywaka Ghana and will be joined by the current team of Stabus.

Plentywaka Ghana will revamp its daily commuter bus service, which will now be called Dailywaka, deepen its partnerships with corporate clients as well and in the near future, it would also be including the Travelwaka service, which would see its customers book bus tickets for all their intercity travels.

According to Plentywaka’s Co-Founder & CEO, Onyeka Akumah; “Plentywaka’s acquisition of Stabus is a firm statement about our commitment to grow and build the largest shared mobility startup in Africa, one country at a time. Isidore is a brilliant entrepreneur and we are excited about having him and his team execute our plans for the Ghanaian market as Plentywaka Ghana’s operations commence on the 16th of September in Accra. In addition to our work in Ghana, we are also really happy about the progress we’ve made in Nigeria as well to scale our Dailywaka service that provides bus-stop to bus-stop transportation service for thousands of commuters. Today, we have moved close to half a million people and 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 and we are looking to expand to more cities as new bus partners sign up with us.”

Despite suspending its operations for 5 months in 2020 as a result of the global pandemic, Plentywaka has still been able to get 960 vehicles registered on its platform and help its riders commute more than 480,000 times in less than 2 years. According to Onyeka Akumah, expanding into Ghana is just the beginning for the team as it aligns with its Pan-African expansion plan. He said that Plentywaka is going to replicate its model across 6 other African countries within the next 2 years and will be looking for the right kind of investors and partners to join the  ‘black and yellow’ movement to provide the best-in-class transportation service connecting cities and communities with technology across Africa.