How Plentywaka is Providing Safe, Reliable, and Comfortable Travels For Nigerians

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has completely disrupted every aspect of the Nigerian economy. But no sector has been more affected than the transportation sector. After everyone was forced off the roads during the lockdown, the impact on Nigeria’s commercial centre and Africa’s most populous city, Lagos, was huge. However, in the midst of this negative impact are some unique business opportunities which the likes of Plentywaka have taken advantage of.

Aiming to help those in need, a tech-driven bus service startup, Plentywaka, jumped to the rescue of Lagosians by expanding its services to provide a safer and more convenient means of travel to and from work, post-lockdown. The company, which recently marked its one year anniversary, achieved this by launching the Plentywaka Staff Bus Solutions, an exclusive corporate bus service for companies seeking safer travel for staff members during COVID-19.

READ FURTHER: Nigerian Startup Plentywaka Marks One Year Anniversary with Over 190,000 Trips

Business Elites Africa recently spoke with Johnny Enagwolor, Managing Director and Co-Founder Plentywaka on, how they are using their service to address the on-going coronavirus pandemic in Africa’s most populous city, and plans to tackle other obstacles in Africa’s logistics sector. Enjoy the read.

Q: Could you please tell us about your background and your path to entrepreneurship?

A: My name is Johnny Enagwolor, I graduated from the University of Benin. Before Plentywaka, I worked in the e-business development departments of Stanbic IBTC and then EcoBank in Nigeria. My path to entrepreneurship started officially when I established Ferycon Nigeria Limited, one of Lagos’ leading logistics companies that provides transport solutions and Pisculture Limited, a household name in the real estate sector. Based on the knowledge, lessons, and experiences from these businesses, I have been able to effectively manage the Plentywaka brand along with the other Co-Founders.

Q: When and how did you get started with PlentyWaka? What motivated you to start PlentyWaka?

A: Bus travel in Lagos had been long overdue for an upgrade, my co-founders and I can attest to that. Daily, over 9 million Lagosians use Danfos (the yellow buses) which are highly unreliable, stressful and offer very little value. I have had my own fair share of experiences with the Danfo buses as well as the other Co-founders including Afolabi Oluseyi, John Atumeyi Shuaibu and Onyeka Akumah. With this, we met to discuss how we could change the state of public transportation using technology. We knew it could be better if a better structure is put in place.

Plentywaka officially kicked off eight months ago (September 2019) in Lagos even though we had been developing the business case for a couple of months before then. It was launched to provide commuters with a safe, reliable, and comfortable form of transportation as well as ease the traffic problems in Lagos to a fair minimum. It was also established in accordance with the United Nations SDG goals 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).

Q: What went into building the initial operation of Plentywaka?

A: Plentywaka started with 25 vehicles and in 8 months, had acquired a total of 51 vehicles. When we started, we had a picture of what we wanted to change in the transport space, had a series of meetings to draw up what the operations would be like, and then went ahead to hire the founding team. We made sure to sort out for people who were passionate and great at the various required roles…

To read the rest of the interview, follow this link to Business Elites Africa’s Fintech Edition, ISSUE 109.

Do note that this interview was conducted by Victor Oluwole.