Turkey's Volt Lines closes funding round after splitting from Swvl

Turkey-based scaleup, Volt Lines, has announced the successful closing of its carve-out funding round with a 30% oversubscription versus the fundraising target.

The round gives the company twice the cash needed to achieve its short-term objective of positive free cash flow by the end of 2023.

After regaining control of its Dutch Holding Company's shares from Swvl in January through a new Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) that reversed the previous year's $65 million acquisition, the company has nearly tripled its monthly recurring revenue and improved its margins by over 25 percentage points, and is expected to double its revenue again in 2023.

Volt Lines currently controls just under 1% of Turkey’s $2 billion corporate and school commute market, with plans to capture 10% by 2027.

Volt Lines has also expressed a desire to expand its B2B software offering overseas. Having operated in Istanbul, Ankara, and other cities in Turkey, the company aims to use its experience to develop a software stack that can be offered to local partners in markets such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the UAE.

Volt Lines currently operate and powers hundreds of bus lines, moving thousands of people every day. Investors were reportedly attracted to Volt Lines' strong team, substantial revenue growth, attractive market opportunity, and a clear path to positive cash flow in 2023.