South African Mobility startup WhereIsMyTransport has raised a $14.5 million Series A extension round to continue its expansion across emerging markets.
The round was led by Naspers Foundry, Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund and Japan’s SBI Investment. Wuri Ventures and Capria Ventures also participated investing $1.5m. This investment comes a year after the company raised a $7.5 million Series A round from investors including Google and Toyota Tsusho. This brings the total raised by the company during its Series A funding to $22 million.
Formed in 2016, WhereIsMyTransport is a big data platform that provides sustainable mobility solutions in emerging markets. It maps formal and informal public transport networks. The company then uses data obtained to improve the public transport experience, making commutes safe and accessible.
Its products are used by cities to coordinate and monitor services, operators to integrate their systems, and passengers, who access the platform through apps and endpoints connected to the WhereIsMyTransport platform. WhereIsMyTransport has been used to enrich Google Maps in Mexico and has helped the World Bank examine access to job opportunities via public transport in 12 African cities.
With this new investment, WhereIsMyTransport plans to continue its expansion across emerging markets, with a launch in Peru planned for later this year. It has already mapped 34 African cities and has over 100,000 users in Mexico.
“WhereIsMyTransport started in South Africa, focused on becoming a central source of accurate and reliable public transport data for high-growth markets. We’re thrilled to welcome Naspers as an investor as our journey continues in megacities across the majority of the world,” said CEO Devin de Vries.
Fabian Whate, head of Naspers Foundry, said WhereIsMyTransport had a strong track record of developing the best-in-class technology for improving the daily commutes of people across the world.
“The mobility technology company is a great addition to the Naspers Foundry investment portfolio and we look forward to working with the WhereIsMyTransport team as they take their business to the next level,” he said.
Mobility in emerging markets via public transportation is often a hassle – it’s inefficient and time-consuming. The successful expansion of WhereIsMyTransport would reduce friction in the movement of people and goods across Africa and other emerging markets.
