KENYA – Kenyan online booking and
riding company, Little is in talks with investors to raise over US$50 million in
Series A funding in a move to boost its expansion plans in countries across the
continent.
According
to CEO Kamal Budhabhatti, the company is looking to expand to Tanzania and by
the end of this month and Ghana by May, expanding its ride-hailing services in
the region.
The
company plans to offer rides in Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam and
in Ghana’s capital city, Accra, adding to operations in Kenya, Uganda and
Zambia.
Little,
which the company CEO estimates to be valued at between US$70m to US$75m, officially
launched in 2016 in Kenya and is said to be currently having 10,000 registered
drivers in Nairobi.
“We
are meeting a couple of investors, both on the continent and in Silicon Valley.
The interest is there,” he said. (Diazepam)
He
added that the funds will be used to develop technology and to expand to more
countries.
The
company has been attracting drivers by encouraging them to offer extra services
to earn money, something that has put it at limbo with rivals such as Uber and
Taxify.
“Our
drivers are agents, they can sell insurance to you, they can sell [mobile]
airtime, they can pay light and/or water bills, they can do all those little
things around that increases that income.”
Little
Cab is the on-demand taxi hailing mobile app and service developed by Craft
Silicon in conjunction with Safaricom.
It
started with great ambitions to achieve one million rides within the next six
months, and it has worked towards this by offering four distinct value
propositions, that are the basic, comfort, lady bug and executive options.
Unlike
rivals like Uber, which is anxious of local competition, Little has a marketing
partnership with Kenya’s biggest mobile operator Safaricom, and is also
available to Kenyan customers who do not have a smartphone.
Uber,
which has been operating in Kenya for four years, has 6,000 active drivers.
The
ride-hailing business is not just sweet to local players alone, other
international players who have grown mass transit routes in the capital
Egyptian
start-up SWVL has expanded its route offerings since its January debut in the
city where a third of road users rely on public transportation to reach their
various destinations.
In
competition against Little’s Shuttle offering, SWVL began its pilot in Kenya
last month with 26-seater buses on two routes.
The
app-based shuttle service allows users to book trips using their mobile devices
which notifies them of the nearest pick up point, price and pick up time by the
bus.
