Based in Kenya, a bus booking platform, QuickBus, is reportedly moving to expand its geographic scope.
This news follows reports that the two-year-old startup is in the closing stage of securing an undisclosed “six-figures” investment.
Recall that the startup raised a $1 million seed funding led by Shorooq Partners earlier in the year.
While a private firm backed the initial funding, the ongoing round is reportedly backed by the UK Government.
Once successful, the bus booking platform will set in motion its plan to launch in Nigeria and Ghana.
About QuickBus
Founded in 2018 by Humphrey Wrey, QuickBus is a digital platform that aggregates buses, offers price comparison and booking options to consumers.
According to QuickBus CEO, the platform was birthed after a terrible bus-riding experience in Mozambique.
QuickBus CEO, Humphrey Wrey
“It would be good if you knew in advance what people had said about buses before you get on,” Humphrey once said.
More so, the digital platform is a replica of an Indian-based platform, Redbus.
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Wrey even hired a Redbus senior management talent to kick start his own project in Nairobi, Kenya.
In 2018 when QuickBus started, the platform was onboarding drivers and ride-hailing companies.
Similar to airline-tickets aggregating services, QuickBus serves as a market place for the likes of Uber, Taxify, among others.
During an interview, Humphrey explained that the technology connects QuickBus’ system to the bus company “in the same way a waiter speaks to customers on behalf of a chef.”
Interested consumers can log on to check for the best alternatives in ride-hailing services while booking a ride simultaneously.
Currently, QuickBus is operational in 8 African countries, including Angola, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and others.
If its plan to expand to Nigeria and Ghana succeeds, then QuickBus would have a base in 10 African countries.
Post-COVID-19: A boost in revenue
Several businesses had suffered from the impact of the COVID-19, and it wasn’t any different for the ride-hailing services
As a matter of fact, QuickBus, like other services in the transportation sector, is just recovering from the financial setback.
Wrey said that just in the last two months, the startup revenue has increased by 100%.
Speaking of which, the bus booking platform recorded $4,000 in sales revenue during September.
By August, the sales doubled by 25 times, with total revenue for the month standing at $92,000.
Furthermore, the company had projected for the month of November that sales revenue would hit a new high of $400K.
“We are set to do 100 times growth in two months from $4K to $400K,” Wrey said while hoping to carry on with the progress into the coming year.
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Team QuickBus, however, is not the only optimistic one about the rapid progress; Sharooq, the VC which led the previous round, also shares a common thought.
“With the recent backing from the UK government and QuickBus’ clear path to a continent-wide expansion in 2021, we remain excited and humbled to be a part of the company’s journey,” Shane Shin, Founding Partner at Shorooq said.
Shin further acknowledges the company’s ability to adapt, a trait that is evident in QuickBus’ performance so far.
This acknowledgement is, however, a well-deserved one considering that the year has rather been a difficult one for the mobility sector.
The way forward
With the latest round yet to be completed, Wrey believes that incoming investment will afford them the luxury of expansion.
Accomplishing this immediate task will strongly position the company for its upcoming Series-A funding round.
QuickBus’ biggest wish for December is to meet up with its $1 million Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) target.
What Techuncode thinks
The bus booking market in Nigeria is currently over-saturated, and the entrant of QuickBus would mean more competition.
Already, there are several aggregators for bus booking in the country.
Prominent ones among them include MyTrip.ng, Busticket.com.ng, Oya.com.ng, Bus.com.ng, Makeigo.com, among others.
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The implication of this is that QuickBus will have to deal with a highly competitive and stringent market.
Regardless, if the morals are high enough, coupled with a solid marketing strategy, then QuickBus’s expansion into Nigeria might just be productive.
What do you think about QuickBus’ expansion moves? Kindly share your thought with us in the comment section below.
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