Nigerian mobility startup, Treepz expands services to Kenya

Treepz, a mobility startup, has announced the expansion of its operations to East Africa with a focus on Kenya. Kenya will be the 4th country the mobility startup will operate in, as it has already launched in Uganda and Ghana.

Its operational services will be available in Nairobi and, later, Mombasa with this new launch in Kenya. Mr Samar Patel, the new Country Manager for Kenya, will lead the team. Mr Patel brings 18 years of experience in sales, transportation, and technology to the table. He has previously worked in a comparable capacity with SWVL Kenya.

Commenting on the announcement Co-Founder and CEO of Treepz, Onyeka Akumah said,

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.” He further said.

This big win for Treepz is coming a few months after it celebrated its 3rd anniversary amidst many other investments made in the last couple of months led by GIIG Africa Fund and MoAngels, Roselake VC, Unpopular VC, Goodwater Capital, and BKR Capital.

There were also investments made by Treepz’s current investors, including ShockVentures, Winston Limited, led by the Lynch Brothers, Aston Investments, and Novum Actus, led by Clara Ogunsemi. 

Recall that last year Treepz raised $1.2m just two months after it completed the Techstars Toronto Accelerator Program. Then, it raised an additional $1.6m (to make a total of $2.8m) in seed funding with new investors coming on board.

Read Also: 3 years anniversary: Nigerian mobility startup, Treepz launches business service

Treepz expansion story

The transport company began operations in the country on September 16 2019, when its e-hailing app went live in Lagos, Nigeria. It was at first called PlentyWaka but rebranded its name to Treepz just a few weeks after raising $1.2 million in seed funding. It also acquired Ghanaian Stabus at that same time; in September 2021, as part of its expansion plans.

A month after, the mobility startup closed yet another investment round of $2.8m pre-seed and acquired Uganda mobility startup, Ugabus, which later became Treepz Uganda.

Following these big wins, Treepz entered a partnership deal with CMS Taxi and Motor Nigeria Limited (CMS T&M), a Lagos-based traditional bus company, to provide better payment options and travel time management with its technology.

It introduced the Transportation Operator System to provide Bus Parks and Bus Operators with the necessary technology to digitize their services while increasing their customer base and managing revenue.

Treepz big wins

Although, like many other companies, Treepz barely survived the economic downturn caused by the global pandemic in 2020. However, it has achieved a milestone in the past two years. It has gotten over 960 vehicles registered on its platform and helps its riders commute more than 480,000 times in less than two years.

Five months ago, the startup claims to have completed more than 2 million customer journeys with over 150,000 registered riders and over 2,000 drivers (heroes) across East and West Africa. About 11 months ago, the startup announced that it had successfully achieved a milestone of 1 million bookings completed across the three countries where it currently operates.

One of the major investments that have helped the startup to upscale massively is GIIG Africa’s investment which led them to win the 2022 African Startup Awards as the Industry Tech company of the year.

Some of Treepz’s big investment partners include the likes of Techstars, Google, Orbit Startups, LoftyInc, Niche Capital, ODBA, Microtraction, Crossfund, Uncovered Funds, and Jedar Capital, among others.

During its 3rd anniversary celebration, the company announced plans to launch Business Treepz, a new service created to offer bus rental services in a structured, approachable, and consistent pattern to businesses, educational institutions, tour operators, and private persons.

Treepz is currently in talks with Kenyan companies like Twiga Foods, Abacus Schools, OAK House School, and Diamond Trust Bank to patronize this service.