Estonian based on-demand transportation company, Bolt, announced that it has raised €100 million ($109 million) from Naya Capital Management, a London-based investment firm via in a convertible note. This now raises the company’s valuation to €1.7 billion. The company recently raised a 50 million dollars debt facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB) in January this year.
Interestingly, the company intends to use this COVID-19 induced recession to grab market share from incumbents like UBER, Lyft and Ola. Most of these competitors have been reducing its workforce. Uber recently stated it was laying off another 3,000 workers and shuttering or consolidating 40 offices across the globe. While Lyft revealed in a regulatory filing Wednesday that it’s terminating about 982 employees, which is 17% of its workforce.
According to Bolt founder and Chief Executive Markus Villig in an interview with Reuters, “In the next 12-18 months we have an opportunity to win market share. Even though the crisis has temporarily changed how we move, the long-term trends that drive on-demand mobility such as declining personal car ownership or the shift towards greener transportation continue to grow.”
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to invest in Bolt at this stage in the company’s growth story,” Masroor Siddiqui, managing partner, CIO and founder of Naya Capital Management, said in a statement. “Under Markus’ leadership, Bolt has established itself as one of the most competitive and innovative players in global mobility. We believe that Bolt is helping drive a fundamental change in how consumers interact with the transport infrastructure of their cities and look forward to the company’s continued execution on its strategic vision.”
Bolt, formerly known as Taxify” currently has over 30 million users in 35 countries. In Nigeria, it recently expanded into logistics with the launch of Bolt Business Delivery service in Lagos and Abuja.
