Grace Ashiru
Nigerian mobility startup Treepz (formerly Plentywaka) began business in Kenya after getting $1.2 million in strategic investments over the last year.
It debuted in Uganda and Ghana just over a year ago. Now, it will do business in another country in East Africa. Treepz is currently in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya.
Crunchbase says that since 2020, the company has raised a total of $4.5 million from 14 investors, joined the Techstars Accelerator program, and bought two mobility companies, Stabus in Ghana and Ugabus in Uganda, to finish its expansion into both countries.
Since the company began, 2.7 million trips have been taken, with 1.6 million of those trips taking place last year.
The company has signed up several well-known companies for its Kenyan service, which is now based in Nairobi and Mombasa, to provide commuter services for its employees and students. These include Twiga Foods, Abacus Schools, OAK House School, and Diamond Trust Bank, with many more to come.
This latest expansion is made possible by the $1.2 million that Treepz raised in a round led by GIIG Africa Fund, including MoAngels, Roselake VC, Unpopular VC, Goodwater Capital, and BKR Capital over the past year. Current investors such as ShockVentures, Winston Limited, Aston Investments, and Novum Actus also made additional investments.
The ride-hailing company was started in 2019 by Onyeka Akumah, Johnny Ena, John Shaibu, and Afolabi Oluseyi. Its digital platform lets people rent buses, SUVs, and trucks and book safe, easy daily trips along fixed routes. It also started a logistics branch in 2020, when COVID-19 caused a lockdown.
