Whichride News Roundup — Issue #2
Every week, we will cover the biggest tech stories around the world in transport, mobility and logistics. This week’s edition has acquisitions, funding rounds, launches and Uber’s safety report. Strap in, will you?
Egyptian trucking startup Trella has acquired local competitor Trukto to increase its market share in the digital trucking marketplace. With the new acquisition, Trukto’s Ali Khadr will join Trella as Head of Growth, its investor Ahmed Fattouh will join Trella’s Board, and cofounder Ahmed Khedr will oversee the transistion. VentureBurn
Droppa, an on-demand online delivery service that reduces the hassle associated with moving goods and furniture, has raised funding. The multi-million rand funding round led by IDF capital is intended for expansion across cities in South Africa. Droppa is currently based in South Africa. VentureBurn
Contrary to previous reports, SafeBoda will actually commence operations in Nigeria in January 2020. SafeBoda will launch in Ibadan. It has been posited that this is to avoid the current unfavourable operating environment in Lagos. TechCabal
Speaking of launches, on Friday, Uber announced that it has commenced operations in Abidjan. This announcement was made by Marjorie Saint-Lot, the Country Manager for Uber Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast is Uber’s first Francophone market in Africa. TechNext
Bird has laid off roughly two dozen employees. The employees came on board as part of its acquisition of Scoot earlier in the year. Scoot operates in San Francisco, Santiago and Barcelona. TechCrunch
This week, Uber released its safety report. This year’s report covers incidences of sexual assault. According to The Verge, “ The report discloses that 3,045 sexual assaults occurred during Uber trips last year. Additionally, Uber says nine people were murdered during Uber rides and 58 people died in auto-related crashes. The numbers represent the first set of publicly available data regarding the safety of Uber’s ride-hailing platform and how it compares to national US averages.” The full report is available here.
What We Are Reading This Week
Startup origin stories — Ugabus and CanGo(formerly SafeMotos)
