Denis Opudo
Taxify is a name that is commonly known by those residing in Kenya and South Africa. This is a ride-hailing company from Europe that offers taxi services. The company announced that it had secured an investment round of about $175 million. It specifically stated that the round of investment is for its operations in Africa.
Taxify will use the investment to expand more its ride-hailing technology. Furthermore, it will use it to make more inroads into the European and African cities. Daimler startup that has in its portfolio diverse European technology and mobility companies led the round of funding. Daimler will also be part of the Taxify’s board. Taveet Hinrikus, a co-founder of TransferWise and Korelya Capital as a venture capital from Europe, joined the current investors including Didi Chuxing.
Gareth Taylor, the SA Company’s manager, said that the investment is good for Taxify. He added it would help the company to expand in the South African activities. This will help expand the existing platform to riders and drivers to more cities. Currently, Taxify has its operations in Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth. Taylor added that the company had recorded a tremendous growth since its launch in the country in 2016. It has covered more than 100 million kilometers. Moreover, it has recorded eight times overall growth in 2017 as compared to 2016.
The company was founded by Markus Villig who was 19 years old by then in 2013 in Estonia. Villing developed the first version and single-handedly recruited first drivers using college money which he borrowed from his parents. Currently, the company is amongst the fast-growing ride-hailing firms globally. It has a customer base of more than 10 million with 500,000 drivers who are in more than 25 nations. Villing who also serves as the company’s CEO added that the company is focused on developing a future full of mobility. To attain that it calls for the support of investors like Didi and Daimler. Taxify increased its number of rides by ten times in 2017. This is after putting into consideration the fact that it home markets Africa and Europe are amongst the most complex markets for ride-hailing globally. He added that by now above 10 million people are using Taxify. The figures are expected to increase drastically. This is because many people are moving away from car ownership and prefer using the mode of transport.
