Egyptian startup SWVL has announced a $US 500,000 seed investment by ride-hailing giant Careem. The deal marks Careem’s first ever direct foreign investment. Founded in April 2017, SWVL is an app-based public transportation startup that reinvents the daily commute of Egyptians. It provides commuters with bus transportation services in Cairo and across major cities. SWVL application locates where the passenger is, determines the fastest journey once destination is selected, and then shows the nearest bus station for passengers to start their trip. Founder of SWVL Mostafa Kandil is a former Careem market launcher; he left Careem and began recruiting fresh blood from top universities in pursue of his entrepreneurial dream. Kandil plans to leverage his knowledge of the industry to optimize on-ground operations early on to ensure smooth scaling. “We understand where the pain points are technically and operationally and we now have the resources to start tackling them,” says Kandil. The fund will be used to accelerate SWVL’s product development and to increase routes and service frequency across the country. “This funding round is a huge endorsement of SWVL’s rising success in the Egyptian public transportation scene and will help…
