Egypt based SWVL, the premium app-based mass transit system announced a US$ 8 million Series A led by regional venture fund BECO Capital, alongside Africa-based investor DiGAME Investment and global VC fund Silicon Badia. Raed Ventures, Arzan VC, Oman Technology Fund, and chairman of EDventure Holdings also participated in the round.

Mostafa Kandil, co-founder and CEO at Swvl said “the US$ 8m round is the biggest round of funding for a tech startup in Egypt and one of the biggest rounds in the Middle East. With the funding, Swvl will solidify its position in Egypt and establish the company as a global leader in the affordable smart mobility space, offering fixed routes for a fixed flat fare at prices that are up to 80% cheaper than on-demand ride-hailing services. We’re trying to build our own version of public transportation, that’s smarter basically.”

According to Nouh and Sabbah the other co-founders for the company stated that “Swvl intends to invest 300 million EGP in the local market in the upcoming 3 years to empower as many micro-entrepreneurs as possible in Egypt and the region and to become one of the biggest job creators in the country.” Swvl is expected to expand beyond Egypt to other emerging markets across the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa region within 2018.

Swvl was founded by three young entrepreneurs – Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh, who have built a strong team with experience from Careem, Google, Uber, Quora, Rocket Internet and DeliveryHero.