Ride-hailing company, Taxify, has said it is now working on expanding the platform’s availability to drivers and riders in Nigeria after completing an investment round of $175m. It revealed that it will use the investment to further develop its ride-hailing technology and continue working on best ways to move in cities, particularly in home markets Europe and Africa.
With this deal, Daimler will join Taxify’s board and may include the service into its Moovel app, a move that would further increase its customer base by a quarter to 12.5m.
Jörg Lamparter, head of new services at Daimler, said “it is an ideal addition to our existing and extensive mobility services portfolio. With its fast-growing ride-hailing activities and extensive geographical coverage, Taxify is a perfect fit with Daimler.”
Recall that last year, Volvo agreed a $1.4 billion deal to sell 24,000 sports utility vehicles to Uber for use in self-driving fleets, also, Jaguar Land Rover plans to sell Waymo 20,000 electric Jaguars for its network.
Taxify recently introduced a new security button, SOS Button on its app in Nigeria. The new introduction is coming at a time when there is a growing concern about the safety of drivers and riders using the platform with reported cases of sexual harassment by drivers and sometimes riders harassing the drivers.
Taxify is an Estonian international transportation Network Company headquartered in Estonia. The company develops and operates the Taxify mobile application, which allows people to request a taxi or private driver from their smartphone. As of November 2017, Taxify operates in 20 countries and 30 cities in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Central America.