SWVL plans to focus its expansion to other cities in Africa, including Lagos and Johannesburg. The bus hailing company will use Nairobi as a launchpad to extend to other cities in Africa. This will allow the company to provide reliable, convenient, and affordable public transport across the continent.
SWVL plans to launch base in Lagos before the end of the year. Later, the bus-hailing app will reach other cities like Johannesburg, Abidjan, Dar es Salaam, and Addis Ababa.
In an exclusive interview with the Kenyan Wallstreet, SWVL CEO Mostafa Kandil revealed that the company is looking to solve the public transport problem in under-served markets in the continent.
“We are looking to expand into Lagos soon. The city has a mega population that presents a huge under-served market, which presents a huge opportunity for SWVL.” Mostafa remarked. “The plan is to expand into two or more African Cities by the end of the year” he continued.
SEE ALSO: Bus hailing platform to use Nairobi as a launchpad to other cities.
An under-served market.
SWVL’s expansion to other cities in Africa serves to fill the gap in the transport sector. For instance, emerging markets have a highly underserved middle-class population.
In most cases, commuters are torn between unreliable public transport and expensive cabs. The company wishes to serve this tech-savvy population through buses that connect different destinations, guaranteeing both punctuality and comfort.
“We tap into the middle-class and the upper-middle class, a segment that public buses in emerging markets do not serve” revealed the CEO.
At a global level, the company plans to expand into Manila in the first half of 2020. Moreover, the firm is eyeing expansion in South East Asian Markets with similar transport problems.
