INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ride-hailing service Heetch has added a new investor to its $38 million Series B round
AfricInvest is investing another $4 million in the startup — in total, Heetch has raised a $42 million Series B round
Previous investors in the Series B round include Cathay Innovation, Idinvest and Total Ventures (now called Total Carbon Neutrality
Ventures, for real).Heetch first started as a pure peer-to-peer ride-hailing platform
Anyone could become a driver, anyone could order a ride
After some regulatory issues in France, Heetch now uses a hybrid approach
It partners with professional drivers in some markets, it partners with local taxis and even moto-taxis in others.In its home market France,
the company competes directly with Uber, Kapten and other traditional ride-hailing apps
It takes a smaller cut than many of its competitors (15%) and users can pay both in cash or card.According to the company, Heetch is one of
the top three companies in the nine French cities where it operates (Paris, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Strasbourg and
Heetch also operates in Belgium.More recently, the company has expanded to other markets, with a focus on French-speaking Africa
It is currently live in Morocco, Algeria and Cameroon
In Morocco, Heetch has partnered with major taxi unions to let people book taxis through its app
It is now the only legal ride-sharing app.In Douala, Cameroon, the company has built a moto-taxi service
The company insists that it is training drivers and moto-taxis are equipped with helmets as there are many accidents.Up next, Heetch plans
to expand to six additional countries in 2020, including Tunisia and Senegal.
