Egypt's TransporTech Startup Swvl To Expand To Nigeria By Mid-July

Cairo-based transportation startup, Swvl, is expanding its services to Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, by mid-July, with initially 50 buses, reports MENA Bytes. The expansion announcement came after two weeks of signing a partnership with Ford, the American automotive giant.

Nigeria will be the third country within Swvl's scope of services after Egypt and Kenya. However, neither the service nor business model that Swvl is bringing are new to the Nigerian mass transit market, for the Nigerian transport tech startup "Zeno" had just launched its first bus ride last April - not to mention the indirect competition Swvl will have to maneuver through, embodied in taxi ride-hailing apps.  As for the startup's hometown, Swvl will exclusively be the official transportation platform for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), transporting football fans from and to the stadium later this month. 

Founded in 2017 by Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh, Swvl is the first ride-sharing app in Egypt, aiming to provide a safe and comfortable service. It is currently operating over 600 lines across Egypt.