Participated · Series A · Feb 2024

JM Wave develops repowering technology to convert older diesel/internal-combustion trucks into electric trucks, and has developed a domestically first commercial battery-exchange (swap) system. The company received a regulatory sandbox demonstration exception tied to its technology and is pursuing certification of its modified electric trucks through the Korea Automotive Testing & Research Institute under the Ministry of Land. JM Wave plans to commercialize a 1-ton last-mile electric truck slated for 2024 and will use the funding to run demonstration projects and expand deployment. The company intends to accelerate global expansion into North America and Southeast Asia. Following the latest round, JM Wave’s cumulative funding totals ₩5.0 billion. Executives stated they aim to complete the certification process by March and target product improvements and sales in the second half of the year.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2023

Treepz is a Nigerian-based mobility startup offering vehicle rental services for businesses and commuter transport solutions across African markets. Over the past year the company expanded into Uganda, Ghana and now Kenya, where it operates in Nairobi and Mombasa. Treepz raised an additional $1.2 million through strategic investment deals over the last 12 months to support the expansion. Investors in the funding round included GIIG Africa Fund, MoAngels, Roselake VC, Unpopular VC, Goodwater Capital and BKR Capital. Follow-on investments came from existing backers ShockVentures, Winston Limited, Aston Investments and Novum Actus. Treepz has signed corporate and institutional customers such as Twiga Foods, Abacus Schools, OAK House School and Diamond Trust Bank, and appointed Samar Patel as Kenya country manager to drive local growth. Treepz operates three core verticals: Daily Treepz (intracity fixed-route rides with seat reservations and a digital wallet), Travel Treepz (intercity bus aggregation), and corporate bookings. The company has expanded by acquiring operators, including Ghana’s Stabus and Uganda’s Ugabus, the latter giving Treepz access to ~70% of Uganda’s bus operators and around 50,000 customers. Intracity trips are the majority of usage, with customers spending an average of $2–$3 per day. Treepz says its technology functions as an inventory and operations-management system for bus operators, positioning it as a tech partner to drive growth. The company plans to consolidate positions in West and East Africa next year, targeting expansions into Tanzania, Burundi and Ethiopia from its Nigerian base. Treepz has also received strategic capital from Google’s African Investment Fund to support aggressive expansion of its ride-sharing and intercity ticketing services. Plentywaka operates a mobile app connecting users to more than 900 vehicles (cars, vans and buses) through intrastate (Dailywaka) and interstate (Travelwaka) services. Since going live in September 2019 the company says it has acquired over 80,000 users and completed up to half a million rides. The startup has set up its headquarters in Canada while maintaining operations in Nigeria across 21 cities. As part of regional expansion it fully acquired Ghanaian mobility startup Stabus and rebranded it Plentywaka Ghana, bringing an additional 12,000 users and a track record of moving over 100,000 people in Accra. Some of the former Stabus customers include multinationals MTN and GB Foods. Plentywaka plans to launch in Accra on September 16 and aims to replicate expansion in six other African countries within 24 months while raising a Series A to fund that growth. Plentywaka is a bus-booking startup that launched in Lagos in September 2019 and provides scheduled commuter bus services. Since launch it has completed over 100,000 rides across seven routes and amassed more than 40,000 customers. The company is expanding to Abuja, where it plans to launch five routes and offer a week of free travel at launch. Plentywaka raised $300,000 in a pre-seed round to fund that expansion and broader growth. The funding will be used to improve mapping technology on Android and iOS, enhance customer experience, introduce better payment options, and expand into other Nigerian states. The company also operates Staff Bus Solutions and a same-day delivery offering, Logistics by Plentywaka, and is a subsidiary of the newly renamed EMFATO Holdings (formerly CrowdyVest Holdings).