SA road mapping startup secures R20 million in funding
Cape Town and London-based public transport data and technology company, WhereIsMyTransport, has secured an additional £1.2 million (R20 million) in seed funding.
Originally founded in South Africa, WhereIsMyTransport, announced an investment from the Global Innovation Fund (GIF), Goodwell Investments and Bombardier.
The investment has been secured as the company completes the digital mapping of informally run public transport in South Africa’s major metropolitan areas.
In August last year, WhereIsMyTransport announced an investment of £1.165 million from Goodwell Ventures, together with the Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm created by eBay’s founder, and Horizen Ventures, as the first closing of a £2 million Seed Round.
The company estimates that transport uncertainty in South Africa alone costs the country $104 billion every year.
Its transit application program interface (API) has been built on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, to leverage Microsoft’s Platform-as-a-Service solutions, and combines data on formal and informal transportation from static and real-time sources.
This means that any transportation mode can be mapped and analysed through the API -whether it’s city buses, metro systems or privately owned buses and minibus taxis.
The platform will support the development of journey-planning applications for websites and smartphones, fare estimators, analytics for more informed infrastructure investment and city planning, and messaging capabilities to help optimise journeys affected by delays and cancellations.
All data is available on the WhereIsMyTransport platform – an open API for emerging cities.
WhereIsMyTransport said that data from the Gauteng city region is set to launch on its platform in August, joining Cape Town, East London, Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Bloemfontein.
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