Bolt, the transportation platform, has closed an investment round of €100 million (R1.9 billion) as it continues to scale all of its product segments from ride-hailing to micromobility and food delivery in Europe and Africa.
The investment comes from Naya Capital Management, the global investment manager founded in 2012 by Masroor Siddiqui, a former partner at The Children’s Investment Fund, and brings Bolt’s total funds raised to more than €300m.
In South Africa Bolt operates in up to 34 secondary towns and cities across all nine provinces of South Africa – with its aggressive expansion strategy in 2019 seeing it double its operational footprint across the country in 2019 alone.
In recent months, Bolt has accelerated the expansion of its services in South Africa to secure more opportunities for drivers to continue earning an incoming during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.
These services include Bolt Business Delivery, where drivers can help essential services businesses get orders to their customers quickly and safely; Bolt Food, launched in Cape Town as a food delivery service once regulations were gazetted permitting food delivery; and Bolt Isolated Cars, which have physical barriers between the front and back seats, limiting the risk of exposure between driver and passengers.
“Even though the crisis has temporarily changed how we move, the long-term trends that drive on-demand mobility such as declining personal car ownership or the shift towards greener transportation continue to grow,” says Gareth Taylor, country manager for Bolt in South Africa.
