Bolt Announces Plan to Invest €500 Million in Africa

The most popular mobile app in Africa, Bolt, has declared plans to spend €500 million there over the next two years.

More than 300,000 additional drivers and couriers will have the opportunity to join the platform in 2023 thanks to the expansion of Bolt services throughout Africa.

Bolt, which debuted in South Africa in 2016, now offers ride-hailing and delivery services in six additional nations, including Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, and Tunisia. The platform has over 47 million users and 900,000 drivers. Also launched in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, and Kenya, Bolt Business is Bolt’s corporate travel division that provides nearby companies with secure, cost-effective options for their employees to travel.

In addition, Bolt stated that it had exceeded 1 billion rides in Africa in just seven years and predicted that over 1 million drivers would be using the platform by the end of the next six months.

The company’s founder and CEO, Markus Villig, stated: “During the past seven years, we have developed a strong team of 500 individuals in Africa, and we continue to be dedicated to making long-term investments in local communities. By this new initiative, which has a huge potential to create new jobs and income opportunities for drivers and couriers at a time when many nations are facing economic issues, we will continue to expand our footprint in Africa.

Markus made these remarks as he and the Bolt global leadership team landed in Africa. While there, they would be engaging with key government officials and visiting local Bolt teams in South Africa and Kenya.

In 2021, Bolt unveiled a brand-new option that let female passengers select a female driver for their trip. In addition to improving safety for both drivers and riders in South Africa, this new category gave women a way to investigate potential new sources of income. Because the “women-only” category proved a success in South Africa, it was also introduced in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya.

Ireoluwa Obatoki- Regional Manager, West and North Africa, said: “While many companies are scaling back investments given the macroeconomic environment, we recognize the transformational effect platforms like Bolt can have in Africa. We operate in markets where there are unique challenges and by continuing to expand our services we will 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.”