Bolt plans further expansion into Africa

Despite the current economic downturn, the mobility startup is looking to invest EUR 500 million in Africa over the following two years, with the funds set to be leveraged for the creation of opportunities for more than 300,000 new drivers and couriers to join the platform throughout 2023, as well as for the establishment of new offices.

Bolt’s expansion strategy into Africa

Based on the information detailed by Investors King, Bolt’s CEO and founder Markus Villig stated that over the past seven years, the company built in Africa a strong team of 500 people and is committed to investing in local communities for the long term.

In the current economic climate, where a multitude of countries are faced with economic challenges, Bolt is looking to continue expanding its presence within Africa through new investments that help provide increased potential for the creation of new jobs, as well as income opportunities for drivers and couriers alike.

Speaking on the startup’s expansion plans in Africa, Bolt VP Paddy Partridge stated that Africa is a continent that the company is committed to and sees future growth in, with them advising that they plan to keep on expanding the team, as they are not found in the position of having to do layoffs, as other companies are.

Furthermore, they added that as a large part of the company’s focus has been around frugality, they managed to create a lean team structure and they also monitor cost closely and, although the economic context worsens, they do not find themselves in a situation where people must be paid off, but are instead looking to continue hiring, aiming to grow in a constant manner.

As detailed in the announcement, Bolt has exceeded 1 billion rides in Africa in the seven years following its launch into the continent and has the expectation for the number of drivers on its platform to hit more than one million in the next six months. 

Following a January 2022 funding round which saw the company raise USD 709 million, Bolt made public plans on utilising the funds to continue its expansion into new geographies and bringing an increased number of consumers and partners to its super app. As confirmed at the time of the announcement, the newly raised capital was set to be leveraged to improve its ride-sharing market, expand the 15-minute grocery delivery option Bolt Market, and build new ‘dark stores’.