Swvl, the Egyptian-founder global provider of transformative tech-enabled mass transit solutions, announced a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Viapool, a mass transit platform currently operating in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Santiago, Chile.
The acquisition will represent Swvl’s launch of a Latin American marketplace following its pending acquisition of a controlling interest in mass transit Software as a Service platform, Shotl Transportation, which at completion, will more than double Swvl’s geographic footprint with the addition of 22 cities across 10 countries.
The closing of the Viapool transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur in Q1 2022.
Designed for intracity commuting, Viapool fills the gap between public transportation and private ride hailing alternatives, which can be prohibitively expensive in emerging markets, offering a secure, reliable and convenient experience for customers.
Leveraging its proprietary technology stack, which includes mobile and web applications, APIs, and cloud services, Viapool offers daily commuters and over 80 corporate clients fixed bus routes that reduce commute time by approximately 50 percent compared to public transportation and are up to 60 percent cheaper than private ride hailing alternatives.
Viapool also has a unique first-mover advantage in LatAm as the only provider of on-demand bus hailing services in Buenos Aires and Santiago – two high growth markets – with definitive plans to expand operations to Lima, Peru in the coming months.
Mostafa Kandil, Swvl Founder and CEO, said, “LatAm represents a compelling opportunity for Swvl to continue its global expansion, all the while capitalizing on unmet commuting needs for hundreds of millions of individuals living within urban megacities.
“Viapool shares our vision of transforming public transportation by making daily commuting more accessible, convenient and sustainable, and has demonstrated impressive growth, unit economics and customer traction. By adding Viapool to the Swvl platform, we will be ideally positioned to scale our operations to additional cities within the region.”
“It is inspiring when you find a team of professionals who are striving to solve the same problems that we do at Viapool” said Alejandro Taubas, Viapool Co-Founder.
“Daily commuting needs to be reinvented and together with Swvl we believe that one plus one can be much more than two. In these times, emerging markets around the world have much more in common than ever.”
