Mobility startup LULA acquires Zeelo’s South African unit

STARTUP VENTURE CAPITALJuly 17, 2024 at 3:18 PM UTC

TLDR

LULA acquires Zeelo's South African arm, leveraging Zeelo's 18,000 rider network for expansion.
Zeelo, having completed over two million rides yearly, exits South Africa to concentrate on US, UK, and Ireland.
The undisclosed cash-only deal marks the business arrangement between LULA and Zeelo.

Ride-hailing platform for corporate commuters, LULA, has acquired the South African arm of Zeelo, a US-born staff bus-sharing startup per a report from TechCabal. Neither company has yet to disclose the transaction details for the cash-only deal.

LULA plans to use Zeelo’s extensive market network of more than 18,000 riders to further expand across South Africa. Until its acquisition, Zeelo claimed to have completed over two million rides yearly.

Zeelo, which entered the South African market in 2019 and raised total funds of $33.6 million by August 2023, is leaving the country to focus on its US, UK, and Ireland markets.

Key Takeaways

Platforms like Uber for Business, MoveInSync, and LULA currently enable employers to help their employees reduce these transportation costs. A recent National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) revealed that workers in South Africa spend an average of R2,180 ($121) when using their cars and R960 ($53) when using taxis. Following the acquisition of Zeelo, LULA, which has more than 1,000 registered drivers and shuttle fleet operators and operates in five South African cities, aims to increase its market share in this sector.

LULA

Zeelo

Ride Hailing

Startups

South Africa

Acquisition

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Venture Capital