Shuttlers raises $4M to expand its mass transit business in Nigeria

Nigerian mobility startup Shuttlers has raised $4 million in a funding round led by Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, with participation from existing investors, including VestedWorld. The funding brings the total raised by Shuttlers to over $5.6 million.

The company, which was launched in 2016 by CEO Damilola Olokesusi, operates a bus-sharing platform for partner companies, with mobility options for their employees, across Lagos and Abuja.

With three payment plans, Shuttlers offers scheduled routes, live bus tracking, optimal routing based on traffic, digital payments and ride schedules. Companies can pay full fares for employees, split fares with them, or individual customers can pay their fares themselves. The fares range from N850 ($1.96) to N1300 ($2.60).

Since its seed round in November 2021, Shuttlers has doubled down on traction, increasing its number of buses from 100 to nearly 260, ploughing through 300 routes across Lagos and Abuja daily.

The startup has also expanded its client base to 80+ companies, including Interswitch, MainOne and Paga, and claims to sell over 9,000 tickets daily to individual and corporate passengers, recording 3 million trips.

Shuttlers’ model aims to encourage more people to take public transportation and decrease private car ownership, thereby contributing to reducing pollution and congestion. The company claims to have reduced its commuters’ carbon footprint by 85%, or approximately 4 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

The additional funding will help Shuttlers build infrastructure to power its mass transit business, enable employee transportation for more corporates, and increase market share in Nigeria's bus-sharing space. The company also plans to expand to five other cities across the country by next year.