Bolt Technology, which competes with Uber Technologies in Africa and Europe, doubled its valuation to €4-billion (R69-billion) after raising money to finance a grocery delivery service.
The Estonia-based company raised €600-million from investors including Sequoia Capital and Tekne Capital Management to finance a 15-minute grocery delivery service called Bolt Market in 10 European countries over the next few months, it said in a statement.
Bolt, which operates in 45 countries in Africa and Europe, is bolstering the services it offers to its 75 million customers through its mobile app with grocery delivery joining food delivery as well as car sharing, ride hailing and even the use of scooters and e-bikes.
Car sharing has been gaining momentum for the past decade, with peer-to-peer services or fleets of vehicles linked via digital applications available in most major cities. The mobility industry is attracting billions of dollars in funding with bets on disrupting the traditional car-rental business model and on changes in ownership attitudes.
Bolt said it plans to launch the grocery delivery service in the Baltics, Central Europe, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia and Romania. — Reported by Aaron Eglitis, (c) 2021 Bloomberg LP