Halan, the Egyptian hailing start-up is, set for a Series B funding round, as it gets set, to expand to Ethiopia.
The motorcycle and tuk-tuk hailing start-up, founded in 2018 by Ahmed Mohsen and Mounir Nakhla, for assisting individuals, on the lower income end, to have access to on-demand transportation.
With an expansion to Sudan, the hailing start-up has facilitated, not less than 20 million motorbikes, as well as, launching a food delivery platform.
This expansion followed after Halan secured a funding round in 2018, led by Battery Road Digital Holdings from Singapore and Algebra Ventures in Egypt. The start-up now seeks further expansion, as it considers a Series B round.
“The company is working on growing both its B2C offerings and its B2B products – these include on-demand logistics, as well as, courier services, direct sales, payments and peer-to-peer delivery”, Mounir Nakhla, one of the Co-Founders, stated.
Nakhla revealed that, as part of its expansion plan to Ethiopia, it is testing its rides, in the country and may, likely, commence operations, before 2019.
With the drive of more expansion, Nakhla hopes that, Halan would, eventually, become pan-African.
“There are a lot of people in Egypt, living in under-served areas, characterized, by narrow, unpaved streets. Halan ventured into the space of light-vehicle ride-hailing, to provide safe, reliable and convenient transportation – with transparent pricing, to minimise friction – in those areas that lack the adequate infrastructure, for cars, or, mini-vans”, Nakhla emphasised.
According to Nakhla, Halan is the only start-up, in the logistics market that offers tut tuk ride-hailing in Egypt and the only “mobility as a service” provider, for logistics, in the same region.
The hailing start-up makes its revenue, from commissions obtained, from booked rides and through its platform.
“Our biggest challenge has been adapting, to the very fast-paced growth and building an organisation that can support it and promotes further growth, while, also, introducing new verticals and business lines”, Nakhla said.
Prior to Halan, Nakhla had, previously, co-founded a light-transport financing business, while Ahmed Mohsen has, also, been a serial founder.
Featured Image: adigitalbloom
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