Egypt’s MaaS Startup, Swvl Expands into Mexico with Latest Acquisition of Urbvan
Swvl Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SWVL), an Egyptian startup that provides transformative tech-enabled mass shared transit for intercity and intracity trips, announced a definitive agreement to acquire Mexico-based Urbvan Mobility Ltd, a shared mobility platform that offers tech-enabled transportation services to Latin America’s second-largest country by population for an undisclosed fee.
Urbvan provides technology-enabled transportation services to improve the quality of life and the safety standards of bus travel over long distances. Swvl’s acquisition of Urbvan, which integrates mobility patterns with a shared vehicle aggregator platform, provides an excellent opportunity to accelerate Swvl’s mission of delivering safer, faster, smarter, and more affordable mass transportation for everyone.
Urbvan, founded in 2016 to provide shared mobility as a catalyst for improving people’s lives, operates in 18 cities across Mexico with solutions for urban routes, intercity routes, private organizations, and private on-demand needs. Urbvan, like Swvl, is dedicated to providing affordable, efficient transportation options free of harassment and other unsafe conditions.
Confirming the deal, Mostafa Kandil, Swvl Founder and CEO, said, “Urbvan was founded on the same principles as Swvl: to address the inefficiencies found in traditional mass transit in many parts of the world. With a significant footprint in Mexico, an impressive suite of Transport as a Service (TaaS) offerings, and strong relationships with local government players, this acquisition reinforces Swvl’s position as a leading provider of safer and more reliable mobility solutions which are required for vulnerable people living in densely populated, challenging markets with vast geographies.”
Renato Picard, Urbvan Co-Founder and Co-CEO, said, “Swvl and Urbvan share a vision to remodel mass transit to be safer for everyone, regardless of gender or social class, in the most challenging and densely populated urban neighborhoods in Latin America. We are excited to partner with Swvl as we work to illustrate best practices for tech-optimized day-to-day travel in Mexico. This transaction positions Urbvan to leverage Swvl’s global offerings to scale the platform both within the region and beyond.
We look forward to using our combined capabilities to provide safe, efficient, and affordable shared mobility options worldwide.”
What this Acquisition Means for Swvl
Swvl will leverage this deal to generate significant value for its shareholders in various ways. It will also deepen its presence in the attractive, densely populated Mexican market, providing a solid foundation for future growth in Latin America.
Swvl’s operational base will expand to over 135 cities across 20 countries following the acquisition, which is expected to be completed in Q3 2022.
With over 450,000 registered users and over 9 million tickets sold, Urbvan brings a complementary suite of TaaS mobility solutions with a proven ability to retain customers and experience high growth levels. It has over 80 clients, including large multinational corporations. Urbvan also has a proven track record of growth, with a 138 percent revenue CAGR since 2017.
João Matos Albino, Urbvan Co-Founder, and Co-CEO, said, “When looking for new growth opportunities, Swvl emerged as an ideal partner to help Urbvan’s ambition to create the most efficient and sustainable transportation system in Latin America. We have been impressed by Swvl’s experience of rapidly scaling its platform globally while providing best-in-class mobility solutions and ensuring that both employees and users remain a top priority. We look forward to partnering with them on our next journey step.”
“The acquisition of Urbvan contributes towards all the key objectives of our recently announced portfolio optimization plan: opportunity to enhance margins, turn cash flow positive in 2023, focus on high profitability segments TaaS and SaaS, expand in higher ticket fare markets and extract more value from our proprietary technology stack,” Youssef Salem, Swvl CFO, said.” In addition, today’s announcement reinforces Swvl’s commitment to back regional champions in the mobility space. Looking ahead, we plan to continue pursuing accretive strategic initiatives to expand best-in-class tech-enabled mass transit solutions in the most challenging markets worldwide, where we believe our system can make the most significant difference to people’s daily lives,” Salem added.