Why We Invested in Safiri: Digitizing Domestic Transport Across Africa
Safiri, aptly named after the Swahili word “travel,” is a Tanzanian company revolutionizing the domestic transport landscape by digitizing the booking and transportation of people and cargo across the country.
By offering a seamless online marketplace and hardware solutions like POS systems, smartphones, and thermal printers, Safiri connects passengers and freight forwarders with transport operators, empowering both through technology.
Abraham Itule launched Safiri in 2022 after witnessing firsthand the inefficiencies of the manual booking processes plaguing local bus companies. “Transportation companies literally use pen & paper to do all their operations. Everything is manual, from issuing tickets to managing sales and tracking vehicles.
These existing pen & paper ticketing systems cause cash leaks of up to 30% of revenue, hindering customer experience. For a customer to buy a ticket, they must physically travel to the ticket booking office, costing them up to $2 to travel and over 2 hours of their time,” he explains. “Safiri tackles this by offering a digital platform where people can plan their trip, compare prices, book tickets online, and track their journeys in real-time.”
Additionally, passengers can use Safiri’s online platform to send and track parcels through local cargo companies, further contributing to economic activity. Furthermore, digitizing sales allows transport operators real-time visibility into their cash flows, enabling them to pay accurate commissions to agents and analyze their revenues. “We’re digitizing the entire end-to-end experience, from the transport operator to the traveler,” says Itule.
Transport operators can buy hardware (POS systems, smartphones, thermal printers) upfront or rent it from Safiri. Once equipped, they gain access to the platform and pay the company a share of their revenues.
Safiri has great growth potential. With over 17,000 transit companies across Tanzania (buses, trains, boats, ferries, and trucks) that could benefit from their service, the company currently focuses on buses and trucks. Still, it plans to expand to include trains, boats, BRT, and flights.
Operating in Tanzania and Zambia, Safiri has set its sights on Uganda, Ethiopia, and the DRC, aiming to be a key player in streamlining African mobility.
Impact with Safiri
Since its launch in 2022, Safiri has been driving positive change across the East African mobility landscape. Safiri has on boarded & partnered with over 350 long-distance bus transportation companies with over 850 buses currently operating on their platform, showcasing the widespread adoption of their solution. By digitizing ticket booking and parcel tracking, they’ve processed over 2.3 million tickets and 120,000 parcels.
Transforming businesses
- Streamlined efficiency: Real-time data empowers operators to optimize routes, schedules, and resource allocation, reducing operational costs. This streamlines operations, freeing up resources for further expansion and service improvements.
- Plugging financial leaks: Replacing pen & paper with Point-of-Sale (POS) devices for issuing tickets enables Safari’s data-driven solution to mobility to curb cash leakage of up to 30% for partner operators. This enhances their financial stability, empowering operators to reinvest their earnings in business growth.
- Expanding customer reach: By offering a user-friendly platform and attracting new customers, Safiri has helped transportation businesses increase their revenue streams by an average of 15%. This strengthens their financial position and fuels their ability to contribute to the local economy.
Empowering communities
- Financial Inclusion: Safiri champions financial inclusion by offering cashless payment options and facilitating access to affordable transportation.
- Economic Growth: Streamlined logistics and efficient movement of goods, powered by Safiri, stimulate economic activity throughout the region and create new jobs and opportunities.
- Bridging the Connectivity Gap: Due to the reliance of transportation companies on manual, paper-based systems, vital public transit information such as departure times, stations, routes, and fares remained inaccessible online. Safiri’s innovative platform bridges the gap between communities and essential services, fostering greater connectivity and accessibility in Tanzania and across Africa.
Safiri isn’t just changing how Africa travels; they’re leveraging the rapid digitization boom across Africa to spur economic growth and empower communities -building a more connected society.
Accelerating growth with Smart Asset Financing™
Through Smart Asset Financing, Untapped is providing POS devices, thermal printers, and smartphones for Safiri to rent or sell to transport operators in Tanzania and other markets. “Safari aligns well with Untapped Global’s investment strategy. It addresses an unmet need for safe and reliable transport in Tanzania and Zambia, providing a scalable app-based solution and delivering measurable impact,” says David Kleiterp, Head of Investments Africa at Untapped Global. “The experienced team and initial traction demonstrate strong growth potential, making it a strategic fit for Untapped’s portfolio,” he adds.
- Data driven Due Diligence: Untapped finances smart assets, such as POS devices, that generate data on asset location, usage, and transactions. This data provides Untapped with deeper insights into the health of Safiri’s business. Additionally, it enables Untapped to measure the impact of its investment in Safari.
- Accelerated Growth: Untapped’s data-driven due diligence process enables it to provide faster access to on demand capital for CapEx-heavy businesses, such as Safiri, facilitating the growth of their operations and expansion into new customer bases and markets.
“I am thrilled about the partnership,” says Itule, Founder of Safiri. “This collaboration marks a pivotal moment in our journey to digitize transportation across Africa. Considering we’re replacing pen & paper with digital infrastructure, this requires quite a lot of capital.”
“Through Smart Asset Financing, Untapped provides us with the necessary capital to equip our partners with the latest technology, accelerating our growth and enabling us to scale our impact across new markets. This partnership empowers us to advance our technological infrastructure and strengthen our commitment to creating a more connected and economically inclusive Africa.” He adds.
About Untapped Global
Untapped Global creates shared prosperity by unlocking economic opportunity where it’s needed most.
We play a catalytic role in financing tech-enabled companies in emerging markets. Our financing approach delivers competitive returns, and measurable impact for global investors.
For more information, reach out to our team at info@untapped-global.com
