WhereIsMyTransport
Location
Africa, Latin America, Southeast Europe and Asia
Sector
Technology
Type of Investment
Risk Capital
Project Stage
Exited
Length of Investment
2017- 2023
Investment Overview
WhereIsMyTransport aggregated mobility and location data in emerging market cities to create transit data sets to sell to governments and mobility companies to make mass transportation in emerging market cities more accessible, more efficient and safer for poorer people.
The Development Challenge
Poor mass transit is a significant problem that disproportionately affects those living on less than $5 a day. Poorer people typically spend a large portion of their income on transport, whilst some cannot afford motorised transport at all. In addition to time saving benefits, there are associated safety benefits from reducing unpredictable wait times at mass transit stops, such as lowering the chances of assault. Data is a critical component to effective transport planning, but there is currently a dearth of informal transit data, which has hindered municipality, operator and commuter mobility in urban environments.
The Innovation
WhereIsMyTransport aspired to be a central source of mobility and location data for emerging markets. Its data assets helped clients in the public and private sector make informed investment decisions in emerging markets, and their public transport app improved commutes for people who rely on public transport. As a result, mass transportation became more accessible, efficient, reliable and safer.
Our Investment
GIF invested a total of $1.1m in WhereIsMyTransport’s seed round and its Series A. GIF’s investment helped WhereIsMyTransport provide information to improve informal transport journey planning, enable local governments to improve efficient planning and regulation of mass transit systems.
Why we invested
WhereIsMyTransport addressed a key barrier to inclusive urban growth given the scale of the problem of lost productivity, and the impact this problem has upon the global poor, whose livelihoods rely on informal public transport routes.
Highly scalable model whereby cities can be mapped faster and at a lower cost relative to other solutions.
WhereIsMyTransport in numbers
Cities mapped
Major cities launched