Easy Taxi is a taxi-calling app launched in 2011 that connects riders with a large base of drivers in emerging markets. The app is available in 160 cities across 30 countries, concentrated in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Over the past year the company added more than 150,000 drivers, bringing its total to about 185,000. Easy Taxi faces competition from players such as Uber and Careem in the Middle East and Africa and GrabTaxi and Uber in Southeast Asia. Management says the new funding will be used to continue growth in existing markets, advance technology, scale operations and improve service to more audiences and geographies. Rocket Internet is pursuing this expansion to establish Easy Taxi’s presence in emerging markets and defend against local competitors. Easy Taxi is a mobile taxi‑hailing app launched by Rocket Internet in 2011 and available on iOS, Android and BlackBerry. The company reports about 2 million downloads and over 60,000 drivers across 15 markets in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It is pursuing expansion into the Middle East and North Africa, beginning a rollout in Saudi Arabia. To support that regional push, iMENA Holding has invested $7 million into the rollout. Previously Easy Taxi received $10 million from Africa Internet Holding in July and $15 million in June through Latin American Internet Holding. Rocket Internet is partnering on the rollout and is using its broader capital and infrastructure strategy to secure footholds in emerging markets. Competition in MENA is described as relatively light, with entrants such as Uber and Careem having launched in Dubai but not yet rolled out to other cities. Easy Taxi offers a mobile app-based service that matches passengers with taxi drivers and lets users and drivers track each other on in-app maps. The app relies on existing licensed taxi fleets rather than building proprietary driver networks, differentiating it from services like Uber. Launched in Brazil in 2011, Easy Taxi now operates in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and other Brazilian cities, plus Salvador, Lima and Venezuela, with outposts in Seoul and Kuala Lumpur and plans for Manila, Hong Kong and Bangkok. The company reports more than 30,000 taxi drivers in its network and almost 1,000,000 app downloads, but does not disclose active-user counts or turnover. Easy Taxi says it will use the new funding to continue building operations in Latin America and to pursue global expansion. It also partners with Payleven to enable mobile payments for drivers and to potentially integrate with Rocket Internet’s broader e-commerce and delivery holdings.

Total raised

$62M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series D

Latest activity

Jul 2014