Cape Town carpooling platform Jumpin Rides raises R1.8-million

Cape Town based carpooling platform Jumpin Rides has raised R1.8-million from undisclosed local and international angel investors.

The investment deal had however been concluded already in May — the startup’s co-founder Pauline du Paty (pictured above) revealed in an email to Ventureburn yesterday (26 July). Jumpin Rides claims it currently has more than 10 000 users on its platform.

“Our objective is to bring the startup to the next level by investing these funds into integrating new functionalities, launching mobile apps, marketing, and starting to look at other African markets,” said Paty. She added that her vision is to expand the startup’s service to the rest of Africa.

Jumpin Rides was launched in 2016 and claims to have more than 10 000 users on its platform

It’s not the first time that Jumpin Rides has scored investment. When Du Paty launched the startup in 2016 with Antoine Paillusseau and Romain Diaz, Jumpin Rides raised an undisclosed amount from Cape Town-based accelerator Far Ventures.

Paty’s startup — which is targeting both long and short distance commuters in Cape Town and Johannesburg — aims to connect drivers who have empty seats in their cars with passengers who are willing to contribute towards petrol costs. The pre-revenue startup makes money from charging an undisclosed booking fee to users.

She said Jumpin Rides formation was inspired by the success of French ride-sharing company BlaBlaCar — which has has more than 60 million users in 22 countries.

Now she says, she want to “change the rules of mobility” in South Africa by making travel easier, safer and more affordable. “We want to bring a valuable change to South Africans daily lives”.

However she adds that the biggest challenge the startup faces is to educate and convince people to consider car pooling as an alternative that will “change their way of life”.

“It’s a new concept in South Africa and we need to convince people that we are offering them an alternative way of transport n South Africa.

“We are part of the sharing economy and being part of it would be a way to live new experiences. I think that’s what people are looking for. And the perfect picture for us, would be to integrate carpooling into all African mentalities,” she explained.

The startup ensures the safety of its riders through a verification process which checks user profiles enabling both drivers and riders to know who they are travelling with.

Featured image: Jumpin Rides co-founder and managing director Pauline du Paty (Supplied)