As a way of saving cost for startups and businesses in Nigeria, it is wrong for landlords, lessors, hirers in Nigeria to demand VAT on rent paid by tenants or lessees, hirees of residential premises according to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). The VAT is only chargeable on premises used for commercial purposes.
Here Is Why
Residential premises are exempted from VAT under paragraph L(C) 6 of the FIRS Information Circular №9701 of 1st January 1997.
Who Pays VAT, Landlord or Tenant?
From the clarification from the FIRS, the tenant, lessee, the hiree pays VAT for use of commercial properties since he/she pays the rent, whereas the landlord pays the Withholding Tax (WHT) in respect of the property. Withholding tax is usually 10% of the rent and the agent or legal fees.
Yes. Both may form part of computation for rent in respect of all properties whether residential or commercial.
However, here is the trick: where agency or legal fees are charged by the landlord, hirer or lessor where the property is purely for commercial purposes, the lawyer and the agent has to pay 5% VAT each (that is total of 10%) on the fees. The VAT is deducted by FIRS from the total value of the transaction.
Where no agency or legal fees are charged where the property is purely for commercial purposes, VAT is restricted only to rent for use of the commercial property. In this case, only 5%.
Residential properties generally do not attract VAT. However, where the lawyer or the agent charges his/her 10% fee, VAT of 5% will be charged on those fees collected by them.
The Implication of This:
This simply means that your landlord, lessor or hirer cannot add VAT payment to your rent where you are using residential premises unless you are also paying agency or legal fee. In practice, this may apply to first-time tenants who have to pay agent or lawyer’s fees together with the rent.
For tenant, hiree or lessee of commercial premises, he/she must continue to pay VAT on rent for use of such premises, virtually on yearly basis, depending on the payment period. Where agency or legal fees are paid, VAT will also be paid on them, in addition to the VAT already paid on the rent.
In essence, new tenants will receive double VAT deductions for their first rent payment for use of a commercial property. Subsequent tenants of commercial properties in Nigeria will have VAT restricted to only to rent paid.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
Indeed Flutterwave is looking at China’s population of 1.4 billion here. It has just announced it is going into a landmark partnership with Chinese payment solution Alipay, which overtook PayPal as the world’s largest mobile payment platform in 2013, and is today the world’s number one mobile payment service organization and the second-largest mobile payment service organization in the world.
The Flutterwave/AliPay connection is probably the biggest thing to ever happen to African tech if we understand the full implication. China is in play guys. Over One BILLION users are in play. I have always said, don’t build for Africa…..alone! Victor Asemota✔@asemota, a social commentator.
Here Is The Deal
Payments is partnerships and we’re happy to announce that we have partnered with @Alipay to create even more avenues for our merchants to seamlessly receive payments from customers all over the world, Flutterwave noted on its Twitter handle
What this means is “ that all our merchants can accept or install Alipay as a payment type to accept payments from its billion users,” Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola said in an interview.
“There’s a lot of trade between Africa and China and this integration makes it easier for African merchants to accept Chinese customer payments,” he noted.
The partnership is crucial because Flutterwave will earn revenue from the partnership by charging its standard 3.8% on international transactions. Flutterwave currently has more than 60,000 merchants on its platform, according to Agboola.
There’s also a catch for Flutterwave, as being integrated with Alipay now gives all of its merchants access to more than 1 billion users on the Alibaba product.
“Alipay is available in addition to card, Barter, Mobile Money and other payment channels on the Rave checkout modal,” Flutterwave said in a statement.
“We’ve set out to provide the complete payment solution for Africans to thrive in the global economy. The complete payment solution would first require interconnectivity within Africa, then connectivity from Africa to the world,” says Flutterwave.
Flutterwave is a Lagos and San Francisco-based fintech startup. The Nigerian B2B payments platform allows African companies to send out payments to other firms around the world.
Access To Chinese And African Markets
This partnership with Alipay which has a large network in China will help Alibaba capture payments activities between Africa and China, whose volume has been put at USD 200 Bn.
“Because of that I was in China to do meetings with Jack Ma and the only ask I had from that trip is ‘I want to be the Africa payment infrastructure that plugs directly into Alipay,’ ” Agboola said.
Flutterwave has been able to connect African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda and Rwanda with one another. This makes cross-border payments easy for several companies.
“So it was about time we connected Africa to the world. We started with the U.S already, but you can’t connect Africa to the world without China”. @Honcho_Honips
With this partnership, there is a high probability that you’ll be able to pay your Chinese import agents directly with your naira.
I know #WaverSZN sounds like an empty boast or just a fun term but to us, it means a lot. It’s about living our dreams. Our dreams of building out a platform that empowers everyday African merchants to meaningfully partake in global trade.
Alibaba founder Jack Ma has made several trips to the continent and this March announced the $1 million Africa Netpreneur Prize for African startups and founders. Chinese company Transsion — a top-seller of smartphones in Africa under its Tecno brand — operates an assembly facility in Ethiopia and announced its IPO this year.
Earlier this year, Flutterwave entered a collaboration with Visa, and the team-up launched GeBarter, a consumer payment product for Africa.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
Group to benefit from efforts to give millions of Nigerians without bank accounts access to financial services.
A subsidiary of MTN Nigeria has been awarded a license by the country’s central bank that would allow it to provide financial services, the telecoms firm said on Monday.
Nigeria announced last year that it would allow telecom companies to provide banking services, aiming to give millions of Nigerians without bank accounts access to mobile money services, a policy that has been successful in Kenya.
SA’s MTN Group, which owns a majority stake in MTN Nigeria, said at the time it would apply for a mobile banking license in Nigeria and planned to launch the service in 2019. Since then, MTN Nigeria listed in Lagos in May in a 2-trillion naira ($5.6bn) debut, which turned it into the exchange’s second-largest stock by market value.
MTN Nigeria’s CEO, Ferdi Moolman, said on Monday its Yello Digital Financial Services (YDFS) unit had been granted a “full super-agent” license by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Through the network established by YDFS, MTN is in a position to broaden the availability of financial services for the underserved across the country. This marks a very important first step in leveraging our infrastructure to scale our fintech initiatives,” said Moolman.
“We have also applied for a payment service bank license, which will enable us in time to offer a broader and deeper range of financial services to those communities and we remain hopeful we will receive approval shortly,” he said. He did not give specifics.
MTN runs Nigeria’s biggest mobile phone network serving about 56-million people.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
Access Bank and GE Healthcare are to provide sustainable healthcare equipment financing to private healthcare providers; The partnership will help the private healthcare providers to deliver access to affordable healthcare services.
Access Bank will provide access to loans for eligible healthcare providers, while GE Healthcare will support the program through the provision of GE healthcare equipment and technical support. The equipment under the partnership scope includes Imaging Solutions including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT), Ultrasound Machines and Life Care Solutions.
Borrowers which qualify for loans include private healthcare providers such as hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centers and other private practices offering a broad array of services.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr. Eyong Ebai, General Manager for GE Healthcare West, Central & French Sub-Saharan Africa said, “We are committed to investing in Public and Private Partnerships that innovate new delivery models that will improve access to affordable and quality patient outcomes, as we progress towards Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria. Our partnership with Access Bank will help lift the financial burden off the healthcare providers.”
Earlier this year, GE Healthcare rolled out a similar initiative in partnership with Medical Credit Fund to provide Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with financing for healthcare equipment.
“There is a need to provide innovative financing models for healthcare providers especially in the private sector, who currently face challenges accessing financing for the purchase of healthcare equipment due to the risk associated with the business.
As a financing institution, we are committed to providing financing at both the health-service-provider level and at health-service-consumer levels to ensure that the people of Nigeria have all they need to live healthy lives.” Said Mr. Herbert Wigwe, CEO Access Bank.
Access Bank was earlier this year recognized for the second time as the ‘Outstanding Healthcare SME-Friendly Bank of the Year’ at the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award (NHEA) 2019.
The need to provide affordable healthcare in Nigeria is key to the development of the Nigerian Healthcare sector. Even as the World Health Organisation has identified UHC as a unifying concept and goal for the Government as they strengthen their health systems and discharge their obligations under the right to health.
GE Healthcare and Access bank scheme were therefore born out of the necessity to provide the needed support to the Nigerian Healthcare environs, by providing healthcare finance at affordable rates and longer tenor.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
With most part of the world trying to move away from oil to adopt alternative and renewable energy, Nigeria’s future in the post-oil world looks rather bleak, according to SBM Intelligence. The Nigerian economy is heavily dependent on its oil exports.
According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, crude oil exports contributed N3.376tn or 74.45 percent to Nigeria’s total exports in the first quarter of 2019. The Nigerian government has spoken of its plan to diversify its economy, in order to be less dependent on oil but there have been very little results.
SBM Intelligence, an organization devoted to the collection and analysis of information, in a report titled Energy Revolution and Economic Disruption, notes that the inability of Nigeria to innovate as the world heads towards the post-oil economy could spell doom.
“The federal government of Nigeria remains hopelessly addicted to crude oil revenues, and rather than innovate or truly revolutionize its economic base, the political elite only seems capable of focusing on areas in which some small amounts are already demonstrably available and then increasing taxes in those areas,” SBM said in a special report released last week.
Nigeria is struggling to grow its own food and it is feeling the crunch of collapsing oil price with the success of unconventional oils – US Shale oil and Canada’s Oil sands – in the market. After exiting a recession, the country has been seen its debt profile rise sharply with the country needing to borrow to fund its budget.
According to SBM intelligence, the Shale Revolution has both an economic and a geopolitical impact. “The United States of America has displaced Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer, and now accounts for 19% of global output.”
The US currently produces 15 million bpd, just 7 million shies of the combined output of Saudi Arabia and Russia, both second and third respectively in oil production while Nigeria produces 2.32 million bpd, according to the NNPC.
The demand for Nigerian crude oil has diminished with the US (formerly Nigeria’s largest buyer) cutting most of its oil imports. Oil exports from Nigeria to the United States fell from 36.4 million barrels in July 2010 to just 5.6 million barrels in January 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“The Middle East and Nigeria used to be critical to America’s energy security. They no longer are. 15 years ago, the US used to be the top destination for Nigeria’s crude oil exports, today they barely buy anything from Nigeria, and India has replaced the US as Nigeria’s top energy importer,” the SBM report said.
However, India’s status as Nigeria’s top energy importer could change with the competition in the energy market. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman’s visit to India in February 2019 is of critical importance, with the world’s second-largest producer of oil looking to capture the Indian market.
The energy revolution is also heavily impacted by the push for clean renewable energy with climate change concerns. Most economies across Europe and America are now investing heavily in the development of mass-produced electric cars. Going forward, strategic partnerships with Europe and America would be less about exports and more about migration and security.
BloombergNEF projects that the number of electric vehicles in the world will increase from 1.1 million in 2017 to 11 million units in 2025. That number is expected to increase to 30 million units “in 2030 as they become cheaper to make than internal combustion engine cars.”
“Some nations will survive the post-oil economy in much better shape than others, and as things currently stand, Nigeria cannot count itself in the former category.”
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
This could be a major victory of 2019 for Nigerian startups. For the second time in two years, Interswitch is signaling it is now ready to open its share portfolio up for public subscription. The unicorn startup is riding on the wings of the recent relatively successful listing by MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa. This is seventeen years down the line for the digital payment solution.
Here Is What You Need To Know And How To Get Ready For Interswitch’s Shares
This could be a reality this time. Interswitch has already hired JPMorgan, Citigroup, Standard Bank for the share sale.
This listing could value Helios’s Interswitch at up to $1.5 billion
The listing would happen on the Nigerian Stock Exchange at the same time it is happening on the London Stock Exchange.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., and Standard Bank Group Ltd. are among the firms working on an initial public offering, which may value the financial technology company at $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion, according to reliable sources.
Interswitch had earlier shelved its plans to list in 2016 after the price of crude oil fell dramatically, causing a contraction in Nigeria’s economy.
This Listing Is Drawing An Unclear Path For Africa’s Digital Startups
Just recall Fawry, the Egyptian startup poking at IPO. The startup was acquired by Helios Investment Partners halfway into its journey. Interswitch, originally founded by Mitchell Elegbe also sealed the same fate in 2011 when Helios Investment Partners, a private equity firm dedicated to making growth investments across Africa bit two-third hard into the startup and subsequently acquired a majority stake in the payment startup. Since then, Helios Investment has become Interswitch’s largest shareholder.
This would, of course, leave a big question on the longevity of African-led startups, and whether the popular exit strategy most startups in Africa are resorting is not acquisition. Helios is among several private funds that specialize in investing in African assets as the economic recovery taking place across the continent bolsters investor sentiment and infrastructure plans.
A Look At Interswitch
Interswitch facilitates the exchange of value between service providers by providing a secure shared payment infrastructure and integrated message broker solutions for financial transactions, eCommerce, telecommunications value-added services, eBilling, payment collections, and disbursements. The company developed and administers Verve, the leading card scheme in Nigeria.
The displayed data on popular payment methods in stores, restaurants and other points of sale shows results of the Statista Global Consumer Survey conducted in Nigeria in 2017.
The Verve card, which is currently issued by banks in Nigeria, is the first and only chip and PIN card accepted across multiple payment channels including ATMs, Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, online, mobile and at banks, and enjoys the largest range of value-added services.
The company has been at the forefront of the development and growth of the e-payment sector in Nigeria, which is evidenced by its unique position of being the only switching and processing company connected to all banks in the country as well as to over 10,000 ATMs and 11,000 PoS terminals.
Aside from this, the company is the leading processor for MasterCard and the market leader in merchant acquiring/PoS, a segment that is still emerging and has the potential for tremendous growth in Nigeria.
The completion of the switchover from magnetic strip cards to chip and PIN cards in 2010, is expected to further accelerate growth and usage of e-payments across the country. Nigeria is the first country in Africa to have completed this migration and is one of the few countries in the world to have completed the migration under a year.
Interswitch’s dual listing in the U.K. and Nigeria is merely repeating what Airtel Africa Plc, the wireless carrier and a subsidiary of Indian parent Bharti Airtel Ltd did recently by simultaneously listing on the London and Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Recall that Jumia Technologies AG, dubbed the Amazon of Africa, listed in New York earlier this year, while Dubai-based payments firm Network International Holdings Plc went public in London. All of these recent events may not be unconnected with the recent invitation by the London Stock Exchange to investors around the world, particularly in Africa to come to invest in the Exchange.
Officials from the London Stock Exchange recently completed a roadshow in a bid to boost the LSE’s 115 African listings. The exchange is banking on partnerships with African exchanges, including those in Nigeria and Kenya, for dual listings, according to Director of Emerging Markets and International Markets Ibukun Adebayo.
“If a company has an international strategic growth plan, then the LSE is a perfect vehicle for the company to come and list,” Adebayo said Tuesday in an interview in Nairobi. “If the company is purely domestic and it needs to raise money in the domestic market and increase the number of investors available to it, then the LSE can help work with local partners.”
Firms already included in the LSE’s listing of Companies to Inspire Africa, which the exchange describes as the continent’s “most inspirational and dynamic private, high-growth companies are:
South Africa: Ad Dynamo International, Coega Dairy, Compuscan
Nigeria: Afriland Properties, Alpha Mead Group, ARM Life
Ivory Coast: Azalai Hotel Abidjan, Cipharm SA, Clinique Procréa, Agriex Côte d’Ivoire
Angola: Aldeia Nova, Angola Energy Greentech, Kora Angola, WEZA
Egypt: Cairo Three A, Carbon Holdings, Eagle Chemical Group, Sambo Metals
Morocco: 10 Rajeb, Bricoma, Damandis Maroc, Ama Detergent, Medafrica Systems
There are 360 companies from 32 different countries across the continent, boasting an impressive average compound annual growth rate of 46 percent, up from 16 percent last year, according to Global Finance.
It says on average, each firm employs over 350 people, with an average compound annual employee growth rate of 25 percent.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
Representatives of the US government say plans are underway to establish the West African Trade Hub (WATH) in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria. This is in a bid to support the bilateral trade between Nigeria and the United States. Grace Adeyemo, Director of the Nigeria-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), said this at a conference for Prosper Africa, an initiative of the US government targeted at “creating an enabling environment for foreign and direct investment” in African countries.
Adeyemo expressed optimism about the economic prospects of the President Donald Trump-backed trade initiative, which, according to her, prompted the decision to move the trade hub into Nigeria.
She, however, noted that Nigerian entrepreneurs who seek access to opportunities that would accrue from the initiative through the hub would need to meet the regulatory standards required to break into the US/global market.
According to her, the NACC would also offer advice to prospective exporters who would like to take advantage of the tariff-free market on the US-Nigeria bilateral trade agreement.
“US representatives have told us that the West African Trade hub would now move into Nigeria to be situated in Abuja and Lagos. This is so that we can address our challenges and have the hub serve as an overseer reciprocatory for all we are going to be doing in the US,” she said.
“It will be launched anytime soon. It has always been in Ghana. US government is willing to support a partnership between US investors and Africa. Nigeria can latch onto that but we need to get it right first. We need to try to grow our businesses and add value to them.”
WATH is a one-stop-shop organization backed and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to increase the value and volume of West Africa’s exports by addressing challenges in intra-regional and export-oriented products.
Apart from synergizing with local regulatory agencies and policymakers to influence the business environment and attract investors, it is also targeted at promoting the two-way trade between Africa and the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
AGOA is a US policy that accords duty-free treatments to virtually all products that are exported to the US by beneficiary sub-Sahara African countries. Acclaimed as the cornerstone of US trade policy with Africa, it is aimed at facilitating the export of over 6,000 goods with no tariff.
Prosper Africa, a trade initiative launched by the Trump’s administration, is one aimed at synchronizing the efforts of the US government agencies to facilitate more deals between the US and African businesses and address trade/investment barriers.
Earl Gast, executive vice president of programs at Creative Associates International, said the end-result of the initiative would create more jobs for Nigerians. He said it would significantly grow the economies of both countries and improve the export capacity of Nigerian businesses.
“With Africa’s prosperity should come the US’ prosperity. We’re looking at how we can marry up the private sectors of both countries and, in the context of Nigeria, partner with the US capital know-how and exports,” he said.
“Economies would grow, jobs would be created through private sector development. Nigeria would export into the region, through AGOA strategy, and to the US. We’re also looking at US exports that might help grow companies in Nigeria so that they can take advantage of the US market.”
On her part, Florie Liser, CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), said the initiative would support US firms that intend on investing in Africa and develop the value of Nigerian products to enable the private sector benefit substantially from the value chain.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
Trane, a global provider of indoor comfort systems and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, has entered into a new distribution agreement with JMG Limited in Nigeria, that will significantly expand and strengthen the distribution capacity of Trane in Nigeria.
The launch of Trane in Nigeria was at the MEGA CLIMA exhibition, dedicated to the refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilation, and heating sector, which took place in the Landmark Exhibition Center in Lagos from the 11th to the 13th of July 2019. JMG Limited and Trane exhibited the Trane brand and conduct a seminar for the professional in the HVAC market.
Under the agreement, JMG Limited will be the Authorized Distributor of Trane residential and light commercial systems in Nigeria through a dedicated team of experienced sales and services engineers. This Distributorship allows JMG Limited to complete its strategic development in the building infrastructure segment in order to offer a One-Stop solution to developers from power, electrical products, mobility equipment and now efficient air-conditioning systems.
Mr. Hazem Bouzaiane, Africa Distributor Management Leader, Trane, said “We believe in selecting a Distributor who reflects Trane’s commitment to environmental sustainability with a strong focus on understanding and delivering value to customers, and the region they operate in. We are pleased to begin this journey with JMG Limited and will be very proactive in working with them to deliver the Trane promise of energy efficiency and reliability to the region”.
Mr. Ramzi Dabaghi, Head of Power Solutions & HVAC Division Manager, JMG Limited, said, “The HVAC industry is a very large industry that covers system design, operation, and maintenance. Like most industries within the construction business, the HVAC sector has been gradually growing lately, with the end-user spending substantial business expansion plans and supporting new enterprises in the industry.
Our interest in the HVAC business arises after we have monitored the increasing market trend and identifying the areas/businesses that will benefit from our service. Add to this our concern to reduce energy consumption and to build a healthier environment.
We are quite aware that the success of any business lies in the foundation on which the business is built on, which is why we are confident enough that the JMG Limited – Trane partnership in the HVAC sector will succeed and develop rapidly.
JMG Limited has a dedicated team of professional engineers (Mechanical and Electrical), trained by Trane and specialized in Total engineering solutions and turnkey projects to delivering reliable and immediate results.
Thanks to the vast expertise and experience of our team, our aim is to provide the optimum solution, irrespective of category and scope of supply. We are always committed to providing high reliability with low maintenance, maximum safety, and great flexibility. With the expertise and experience of our team and the name Trane and not to forget the quality and innovation of Trane products, we simply offer the best solutions.
We can confidently say that our partnership will definitely be a success story within the HVAC business in Nigeria”.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
Egypt’s Swvl is coasting home big time. The startup is never looking back. Its next bus stop is Lahore, Pakistan ’s capital. Watch out for how the two-year startup is invading Uber, Careem and Airlift’s territories and raising huge funds to scale its operations. Mustafa Kandil is indeed never looking back. Swvl’s wind is gradually sweeping strong. The two-year-old startup is now in Egypt, Kenya, Pakistan, and counting.
An In-depth Look At The Momentum
This move by Swvl, the Cairo-headquartered app-based bus booking startup to Pakistan makes Pakistan Swvl’s third market after Egypt and Kenya.
Swvl had announced plans to expand to Pakistan earlier this month.
The Egyptian startup seems to have developed a habit of being secretive about their expansion plans (which makes sense).
In early 2018, when Swvl raised tens of millions of dollars in its Series B-1, the startup had said that it will use the money to expand to Southeast Asia, starting with Manila in 2019 Q1 but they actually expanded to Kenya which was never revealed previously.
Last month, Swvl said that it is planning to expand to Nigeria (by mid-July) but now we’re learning about their Pakistan expansion.
Founded in 2017, Swvl dubs itself as a private premium alternative to public transportation enabling riders to book seats on its network of “high-quality” buses (owned and operated by third-parties). The startup operates bus lines on fixed routes with customers boarding the buses from specific pick-up spots to be dropped at pre-defined (virtual) stations.
The Startup Is Fully On Ground In Lahore and Ride Sharers Are Invited To Place Bookings
Although Swvl has not shared the details about the number of lines and buses its operating in Lahore, Lahore city is, however, Pakistan’s second-largest home to over 10 million people and is similar to Swvl’s home market Cairo in many ways.
Both the cities have a poor public transportation system (things in Lahore have improved lately with the government-run bus rapid transit service but it only covers a specific part of the city), long commute times, and traffic congestion is some of the similarities the two cities share.
And that is why both the cities offer a great opportunity to startups like Swvl to solve some of these issues.
Expect A Stiff Competition But An Easy Triumph
Swvl is not the first player in this category in Pakistan. Airlift, a local startup that was launched earlier this year and is in the process of closing their first investment round has already gained decent traction in Lahore (and is apparently available in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi as well).
But Swvl obviously has the resources to take all these players on. Backed by some of top regional VCs including BECO Capital, Raed Ventures, Oman Technology Fund, and global names like Endeavor Catalyst, Swvl has raised over $80 million in VC money to date which makes it one of the best-funded startups in MENA and the best-funded startup in this category.
Pakistan might be a new market for Swvl but having worked there earlier, their team has enough know-how about the dynamics of local transportation ecosystem. Mostafa Kandil, in his previous role as Market Launcher for Careem, has launched different cities in Pakistan. Swvl’s Head of Global Expansion Shahzeb Memon, a Pakistani national, was previously with Careem (Pakistan) serving them as Supply Manager before joining Swvl in 2018.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
The French start-up kwik announced today that Olatowun CANDIDE-JOHNSON, a Nigerian lawyer and businesswoman, has officially been appointed Chairwoman of its supervisory board. kwik, which aims to become the number 1 provider in the Nigerian last-mile delivery market, was founded by a French National, Romain Poirot-Lellig.
A Nigerian lawyer and businesswoman specializing in Oil and Gas Law and Governance for multinational companies, Olatowun CANDIDE-JOHNSON have several years of experience in senior management roles within the Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria as well as in the Total Group. Her last role as at the end of 2016 was General Counsel; Chief Compliance Officer & Executive General Manager, Management Services.
Ms. CANDIDE-JOHNSON earned an MBA from the TRIUM Global Executive MBA program in 2016. TRIUM Global Executive MBA is a joint award from the LSE, NYU Stern, and HEC Paris.
She is the Founder and CEO of GAIA Women Club, a members-only business & social Club in Victoria Island, Lagos, whose goal is to encourage women in business to connect more deeply, gain each other’s trust and do more business together.
She is also a Founding parent and director of the Lagos Preparatory School, located in Ikoyi, Lagos (economic capital of Nigeria), one of the leading preparatory schools offering the British curriculum in Africa. Olatowun CANDIDE-JOHNSON also sits on the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Norwegian Chamber of Commerce (NNCC).
In joining Africa Delivery Technologies, Olatowun brings her experience, know-how and deep knowledge of the Nigerian economy and society to kwik, guiding the company in its ambition to become the # 1 in last-mile delivery in Africa’s largest market.
kwik was developed by Africa Delivery Technologies, a young French start-up with a simple vision: large African cities are facing major challenges (demographic, infrastructure, socio-economic …) all of which can be, if not definitively solved, at least partially addressed through the use of new mobility technologies.
Under the brand name kwik, Africa Delivery Technologies has been developing, since the summer of 2018, an urban mobility platform which will initially focus on delivery services in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital with approximately 22 million inhabitants. It is targeting the B2B market with a series of new features and an adapted commercial approach.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
