Bolt to Invest $530 million in Africa Transportation Market 

Ride-sharing giant, Bolt has unveiled plans to invest $530 million in Africa over the next two years. This comes as part of its plan to broaden its operations and provide opportunities for over 300,000 additional drivers and couriers to join the network this year.

This was disclosed by Bolt’s Founder and CEO, Markus Villig during a trip to Africa with Bolt’s global leadership team. The trip to South Africa and Kenya provides an opportunity for Bolt’s leadership to meet with local Bolt teams. 

During the trip, they will also meet with senior government stakeholders such as the South African Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, the Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, and Kenya’s Prime Minister, CS Musalia Mudavadi.

Reiterating their commitment to long-term investment in local communities, Bolt hinted that they have built a strong team of 500 people in Africa over the past seven years.

The transportation platform further promised to grow its presence in Africa through this new investment.

Bolt’s operation in Africa 

Bolt, which was founded in 2013 by Markus Villig, a 19-year-old high-school student, entered South Africa in 2016. The company now operates ride-hailing and delivery services in six other African countries with over 47 million consumers and 900,000 drivers. These countries include Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, and Tunisia.

Speaking on the operations in Africa, Regional Manager, West and North Africa, Ireoluwa Obatoki, said: “While many companies are scaling back investments given the macroeconomic environment, we recognize the transformational effect platforms like Bolt can have in Africa.”

Obatoki noted that Bolt will continue “to offer people new opportunities to earn a good living by being a driver, as well as providing millions of customers with a safe, reliable, and affordable way of moving around their city.”

Bolt has exceeded 1 billion rides across Africa in just seven years. It also expects that the number of drivers on the platform would exceed 1 million in the next six months.

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