Pan-African mobility startup Treepz has pivoted into turning into a car-sharing market that enables automobile homeowners to place their automobiles up for lease. In keeping with the startup, this pivot is a extra inexpensive and sustainable choice for mobility in Africa.
With this transfer, Treepz is trying to reinvent its mobility enterprise in a somewhat unexplored area of interest. The premise is straightforward: there are 44 cars to 1,000 Africans, demonstrating a excessive demand for inexpensive transportation. Treepz goals to fill this hole by permitting individuals to lease a automobile solely once they want it and for rental durations starting from hourly to month-to-month use. On the app, vehicles could be rented for about ₦30,000 to ₦93,000 every day, however the firm believes that as extra automobile homeowners are onboarded into the system, the ensuing value competitors will additional drive down costs for customers.
In an announcement shared with TechCabal, Treepz’s CEO, Onyeka Akumah, shared how Treepz’s new focus is assembly the ache factors of automobile homeowners and renters on the continent. “The brand new Treepz is an thrilling innovation for transportation in Africa. We’re making higher use of greater than 26 million automobiles out there on the continent to supply commuters with pleasant and enjoyable transportation service as they journey for work or just get pleasure from a clean trip throughout the safaris within the continent,” he stated.
“At the moment we’re thought to be the biggest car-sharing market in Africa and we’ve got seized that chance with the know-how we’ve constructed for hosts (car homeowners or rental firms) to handle their stock, attain new clients and monitor their development. Whereas friends who e book from these hosts have the luxurious to pick out their dream automobile for work, pleasure or exploration with a vetted driver,” Akumah added.
Per the press launch, Treepz has spent the final 5 months constructing its market product and is now rolling it out to customers in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya. This market, which Treepz claims to be Africa’s largest for car-sharing, holds quite a lot of automobiles together with sedans, SUVs, vans, and buses. The enterprise mannequin includes renters or “friends” selecting their desired vehicles primarily based on location and length whereas the vetted automobile homeowners or “hosts” set their most well-liked costs and availability.
Africa’s car-sharing market is nascent, with few active players and hardly any market chief. Treepz believes that its answer, coupled with its experiences within the African markets it has operated in, can place the startup as a prime market chief in Africa’s fledging car-sharing market. Chatting with the competitors posed by the prevalent ride-sharing mannequin and operators, Treepz’s cofounder, Johnny Enagwolor, shared in an interview with TechCabal, some aggressive benefits of the startup’s play.
“From a consumer standpoint, the pricing is healthier with our car-sharing mannequin. Journey-hailing firms would cost so much for a full day’s trip, in comparison with the every day gives on our platform. Additionally, we’ve got a set of vehicles—together with vehicles and luxurious vehicles—that aren’t sometimes used for ride-hailing, thereby increasing the selection for our customers. Lastly, we’re working at a wider scope, with a system that may function in additional cities than those ride-hailing firms are selecting to give attention to.”
Enagwolor additionally shared that Treepz’s car-sharing play shouldn’t be significantly new to the corporate, as they’d tried out the mannequin for some clients prior to now, albeit in a non-digitised play. “Ultimately, we took a tough take a look at the enterprise to seek out out what mannequin was giving us the most effective margins and will scale higher. Then we determined to take a full pivot towards car-sharing,” he revealed.
Treepz raised $2.8 million in 2021 and scaled its suite of mobility options by buying mobility startups in Ghana and Uganda. In Nigeria, it offered three foremost companies, together with an Uber-like service for minivans, an intercity journey answer, and a company mobility answer for companies. Now, the startup is discontinuing its earlier fashions to give attention to this new mobility vertical, bolstered by a imaginative and prescient of turning into Africa’s premier car-sharing market.
Treepz was based in 2019 by Onyeka Akumah and is backed by notable buyers comparable to Google, SOSV, Goodwater Capital, Techstars, and GIIG Africa Fund.