Today, it is the first car-sharing marketplace in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda created to serve more than 26 million vehicle owners in Africa.

Since 2019, Treepz has moved over 2.5m passengers with its bus-hailing platform across Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya.

With the launching of its car-sharing marketplace in Africa, starting today May 3, 2023, Treepz innovative platform allows car owners to rent out their vehicles for short to long-term periods, providing a more affordable and sustainable option for mobility in Africa.

This is a huge relief for over 600 million Africans living in urban areas and less than 44 cars per 1,000 people, who have the demand for affordable transportation options.

Treepz’s car-sharing platform addresses this need by allowing people to rent a car only when they need it and for flexible rental periods.

This helps reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions, leading to a more sustainable transportation system.

The car-sharing market in Africa is expected to grow at an annual rate of 20% from 2020 to 2030, with a projected market value of $500 million.

Treepz, as Africa’s largest car-sharing marketplace by market size of their operations, is well-positioned to take advantage of this growth and provide an affordable and sustainable transportation option for people across the continent.

The marketplace is available on iOS and Android and offers a variety of vehicles, including sedans, SUVs, vans, and buses. Renters can search for vehicles by inputting their location and duration and choose from a list of several car owners, makes, and models.

Car owners can set their prices, availability, and long-term booking discounts, among other functionalities.

Notable businesses such as Wakanow and Tekexperts in Nigeria, Twiga Foods and Diamond Trust Bank in Kenya and many more organizations in Africa have already been using the Treepz solution for their staff, but now, Treepz is rolling out the consumer side of the service to make access to vehicles for rent easier.

Treepz is backed by notable investors such as Google, SOSV, Goodwater Capital, Techstars and GIIG Africa Fund, among others, which adds credibility to the company and its new marketplace.

Commenting on the development, Onyeka Akumah, Treepz’s CEO, said:

“The new Treepz is an exciting innovation for transportation in Africa. We are making better use of more than 26 million vehicles available on the continent to provide commuters with enjoyable and fun transportation service as they travel for work or simply enjoy a smooth ride across the safaris in the continent. Today we are regarded as the largest car-sharing marketplace in Africa and we have seized that opportunity with the technology we’ve built for hosts (vehicle owners or rental companies) to manage their inventory, reach new customers and track their growth. While guests who book from these host have the luxury to select their dream car for work, pleasure or exploration with a vetted driver. 

“We have spent the last 5 months building this solution and we are excited to introduce you to this in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya. Treepz is at the forefront of this important movement with guest and host enjoying their commute on the continent. Our goal to listen to our customers and keep making them happy with every trip they make with us at Treepz.”

Investors in the round were Venture Catalysts, V&R Africa, Grenfell holdings, and SOSV. Family offices and angel investors from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and India also participated.

The fund will stimulate Badili’s growth in West Africa, where it hopes to tap an increasing demand for affordable second-hand smartphones, as well as boost its operations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania where it has already established strong partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Badili was founded by Rishabh Lawania, the CEO, and Keshu Dubey, the CTO, to tackle the challenge of high demand for second-hand phones, in a world where lots of stolen phones are being circulated and the risk of false accusations on innocent buyers is high.

The company carries out trade-ins and buybacks on behalf of major OEMs and phone dealers, it also buys devices from individuals too. Badili has signed partnerships with key brands like Samsung and 60% of its customers are individuals upgrading from a feature to smartphone, with devices sold costing less than half their original prices, ultimately bringing about affordability and safety.

Badili buys the phones through its platform, and a network of shops, as well as agents, spread across the country. It uses its price estimation algorithm, which takes into account various factors including the age of the phone and model, to calculate the value of the phone. The phones are revamped, repackaged and resold with a one-year warranty.

The company utilises details such as the ID and mugshot of the sellers, signing of a right of ownership affidavit on the device and has set up a system that can flag frequent sellers.

Badili is currently setting up and scaling technology, systems, partnerships and networks needed to build Africa’s most trusted and biggest consumer electronics re-commerce marketplace.

Created by SOSV, dlab focuses on providing capital and resources to web3 and crypto projects creating more open, transparent, and participatory systems using blockchains and other decentralisation technologies.

Benefits

These startups stand the chance to receive:

• 3 – 12 months residency 
• $250,000 pre-seed funding
• $500,000 partner perks
• With over 70 mentors

In addition to providing capital, dlab supports startups through a proven recipe of scheduled review and feedback sessions, mentor network interactions, as well as bespoke hands-on help in areas such as product architecture and design, UX, business development, and fundraising strategy. 

The accelerator has a dedicated community of mentors, founders, syndicate investors, and ecosystem partners who would collaborate with early-stage founders.

As part of the SOSV family, founders also have access to further follow-on funding opportunities, educational workshops, a global alumni community network of over 2000 founders, and over $500k in perks from partners and leading infrastructure providers.

Eligibility 

dlab is open to pre-seed and seed-stage startups in the blockchain sector.

How to apply

Apply to scale your blockchain startup before deadline on Saturday, December 31, 2022.