WhereIsMyTransport raises $14.5m to expand its mobility data and solutions for emerging market megacities. Naspers, Cathay AfricInvest and SBI join Google as investors in the Company.
London, United Kingdom – 2021: WhereIsMyTransport addresses the critical challenges associated with mobility in emerging markets. The round was led by Naspers Foundry, Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, and SBI Investment, joining existing investors such as Google and Toyota Tsusho. Ekta Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to the company.
WhereIsMyTransport uses data and technology to map public transport networks and make daily travel more convenient, safe, and efficient for over 300 million commuters in emerging market cities. In these markets, transport is unreliable, and informal (unmapped, privately-operated) modes of transport constitute up to 90% of the total network. As a result, traditional journey-planning apps players have not been successful, as they lack the full data (formal and informal) picture and the ability to re-route a journey in real-time as external events disturb it.
WhereIsMyTransport has developed the foremost data collection playbook globally for mobility data in emerging markets, with 1,000,000+ km of routes mapped in 40 cities on 4 continents. Following closely on the news of the Series A extension is the launch of WhereIsMyTransport’s first consumer product, Rumbo, in Latin America. Leveraging the company’s unrivalled mobility data, the Android app is the first in these markets to provide network information from every mode of public transport. Rumbo has reached over 100,000 users and delivered over 750,000 real-time network alerts since launching in Mexico City in November 2020, and launches in Lima, Peru, later this year.
An impressive international consortium of investors
The round was led by Naspers Foundry, Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, and SBI Investment, joining a notable list of existing investors, including giants like Google and Toyota Tsusho Corporation. The extension comes as WhereIsMyTransport deepens its mobility data offering in the Majority World, adding and maintaining complete network data from every mode of public transport in Bangkok, Mexico City, Lima, Dhaka and Gauteng, and on target to map more than 30 emerging market megacities by 2023. Other participants in the extension are Capria Ventures, Wuri Ventures, Mission Gate, B&Y, and KDDI Open Innovation Fund managed by Global Brain.
“Our initial round gave us the leverage we needed to enter new markets, and to broaden our reach. Securing additional funding now, as cities experience unparalleled changes to their mobility landscapes, is testament to the many opportunities that we create by producing accurate and reliable public transport data, and to our market-leading position,” says Devin de Vries, CEO and co-founder of WhereIsMyTransport. “More than ever, citizens and businesses in emerging markets need a central source of mobility data they can trust.”
This transaction reinforces Ekta’s expertise in the mobility space and its continued commitment to raising equity for tech companies driving positive change. It further highlights Ekta’s ability to bring onboard a diverse set of high-quality and value-add investors.