Wuri Ventures, Capria Ventures invest $1.5 mn in WhereIsMyTransport

• Launched in Cape Town, South Africa, the company mapped major cities across the continent of Africa.
• Till date the total fundraise amounts to $22 million.

June 09, 2021: Pan-African VC fund Wuri Ventures and investment firm Capria Ventures, has invested in mobility data start-up WhereIsMyTransport. This is Wuri Ventures’ second investment in a mobility/logistics startup, the other one being Lori Systems. Previous investors in WhereIsMyTransport include Goodwell, Omidyar Network Fund, Bombardier, Google, Liil Ventures, Toyota Tsusho, Nedbank, and Global Innovation Fund. Also joining in the $14.5 million Series A extension round are Naspers Foundry, AfricInvest, and SBI amongst others.

WhereIsMyTransport plans to utilise funds to scale up the technology, to expand to other cities, and to launch Rumbo, their consumer-facing App.

Till date the total fundraise amounts to $22 million.

Tijan Watt, general partner, Wuri Ventures said, ”The colorful and ubiquitous mini-buses we have all heard about like Matatus in Kenya, Danfo in Nigeria, and Car Rapide in Senegal, actually reveal a sort of dysfunction in public transportation in many parts of Africa, where the private sector has to shoulder the burden in absence of centralised options. As a result, you’re faced with inefficiency, insecurity and congestion. We realised that technology could play a role in providing coordination and transparency in this industry, taking the place of a central dispatch. WhereIsMyTransport has been at it for longer than most and now they are the global leader in informal public transportation mapping.”

WhereIsMyTransport is mapping the ‘route more traveled’. Informal transport networks are 10x the size of formal transport networks, as urban growth outstrips infrastructure and the development of formal transportation options. Due to the resultant lack of centralised coordination, these networks can be unpredictable, inefficient and unsafe. Journey-planning apps work well for commuters in developed markets, but often do not cover informal networks in emerging markets. WhereIsMyTransport collects and standardises data including routes, bus stop information, type and quality of vehicles as well as point of interest and usership data, making it available through their data marketplace to leading mapping applications like Google Maps and others.

Devin DeVries, CEO and co-founder, WhereIsMyTransport commented, "We are thrilled to welcome Wuri Ventures and Capria Ventures as investors in WhereIsMyTransport, with each organisation sharing our strategic focus on emerging markets. Wuri Ventures are increasing their existing holding, testament to the vast opportunities created by our work producing accurate and comprehensive mobility data in Majority-World megacities."

Launched in Cape Town, South Africa, the company mapped major cities across the continent of Africa including Dar Es Salam, Lagos, Gauteng and others, before expanding globally, mapping mega-cities like Mexico City and Dhaka. Currently, WhereIsMyTransport has covered over 950,000 kilometres of routes in 39 cities, and plans to roll out the services to mega-cities across emerging markets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Commenting on the second investment in a logistics solution, Watt added, “Since our inception, we have invested in 6 start-ups and advised over 20. We are a pan-African fund and we invest in companies in all sectors where innovation can help to solve some of the most persistent challenges due to inefficiencies and administrative dysfunction.”

Jack Knellinger, partner, Capria Ventures commented, “Solutions bridging the mobility gap for people with low incomes allows them to save both time and money thereby providing the opportunity to secure other essential goods and services. Mapping the otherwise conspicuous informal transport network and making the data accessible to individuals, businesses, and cities has a profound effect on a region’s economic development and well-being. Capria is committed to back solutions like this, and WhereIsMyTransport is our first co-investment deal in the region with Wuri Ventures.”