Swvl, a global provider of tech-enabled mass transit solutions, has announced the acquisition of Mexico-based Urbvan Mobility Ltd (“Urbvan”), a shared mobility platform that provides tech-enabled transportation services to Latin America’s second biggest country by population. 

Why The Acquisition

Urbvan provides technology-enabled transportation services with the goal of improving both the quality of life and the safety standards of bus travel over long distances. Swvl’s acquisition of Urbvan, which integrates mobility patterns with a shared car aggregator platform, gives an outstanding chance to accelerate Swvl’s aim of providing safer, faster, smarter, and more affordable mass transportation for everyone, no matter where they live.

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Urbvan was formed in 2016 with the goal of using shared mobility to improve people’s lives. The company is present in 18 cities around Mexico, offering solutions for metropolitan routes, intercity routes, private organisations, and private on-demand needs. Urbvan, like Swvl, is dedicated to offering economical, efficient transit solutions that are free of harassment and other dangerous situations.

Transaction In Summary

The transaction provides Swvl enhanced scale which Swvl believes will create substantial value for shareholders in several ways:

• Drives Swvl’s continued global expansion
• Deepens penetration in the attractive, densely populated Mexican market and provides a strong foothold for further growth in Latin America.
• Increases global footprint to > 135 cities in > 20 countries.
• Offers a complementary suite of TaaS mobility solutions with proven ability to retain customers and experience high growth levels:
• Over 450,000 registered users and over 9m tickets sold to date.
• B2B client base is over 80 organizations, including large multinational companies.
• 27 anchor routes in México City.
• Brings proven track record of growth:
• 138% revenue CAGR since 2017.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in Q3 2022.

Mostafa Kandil, Swvl Founder and CEO, said, “Urbvan was founded on the same principals as Swvl: to address the inefficiencies found in traditional mass transit in many parts of the world. With a significant footprint in Mexico, an impressive suite of Transport as a Service (TaaS) offerings, and strong relationships with local government players, this acquisition reinforces Swvl’s position as a leading provider of safer and more reliable mobility solutions which are required for vulnerable people living in densely populated, challenging markets with vast geographies.”

Renato Picard, Urbvan Co-Founder and Co-CEO, said, “Swvl and Urbvan share a vision to remodel mass transit to be safer for everyone, no matter their gender or social class, in the most challenging and densely populated urban neighborhoods in Latin America. We are excited to partner with Swvl as we work to illustrate best-practices for tech-optimized day to day travel in Mexico. This transaction positions Urbvan to leverage Swvl’s global offerings to scale the platform both within the region and beyond. We look forward to using our combined capabilities to provide safe, efficient, and affordable shared mobility options across the world.”

João Matos Albino, Urbvan Co-Founder and Co-CEO, said, “When looking for new growth opportunities, Swvl emerged as an ideal partner to help Urbvan’s ambition to creating the most efficient and sustainable transportation system in Latin America. We have been impressed by Swvl’s experience of rapidly scaling their platform globally while providing best-in-class mobility solutions and ensuring that both employees and users remain a top priority. We look forward to partnering with them on the next step of our journey.”

Youssef Salem, Swvl CFO, said, “The acquisition of Urbvan contributes towards all the key objectives of our recently announced portfolio optimization plan: opportunity to enhance margins, turn cash flow positive in 2023, focus on high profitability segments TaaS and SaaS, expand in higher ticket fare markets and extract more value from our proprietary technology stack. Today’s announcement reinforces Swvl’s commitment to back regional champions in the mobility space. Looking ahead, we plan to continue to pursue accretive strategic initiatives to continue expanding best-in-class tech-enabled mass transit solutions in the most challenging markets across the world, where we believe our system can make the greatest difference to people’s daily lives.”

A Look At What The Startup Does

Swvl is a global provider of transformative tech-enabled mass transit solutions, offering intercity, intracity, B2B and B2G transportation across > 135 cities in > 20 countries. The Company’s platform provides complimentary semi-private alternatives to public transportation for individuals who cannot access or afford private options. Every day, Swvl’s parallel mass transit systems are empowering individuals to go where they want, when they want — making mobility safer, more efficient, accessible, and environmentally friendly. Customers can book their rides on an easy-to-use proprietary app with varied payment options and 24 / 7 access to high-quality private buses and vans.

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Swvl was co-founded by Mostafa Kandil, who began his career at Rocket Internet, where he launched the car sales platform Carmudi in the Philippines, which became the largest car classifieds company in the country in just six months. He then served as Rocket Internet’s Head of Operations. In 2016, Kandil joined Careem, a ride-sharing company and the first unicorn in the Middle East. He supported the platform’s expansion into multiple new markets.

SWVL Mexico Urbvan SWVL Mexico Urbvan

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. 
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh