This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. (September 2021) |
Swvl Holdings Corp. is an Dubai-based provider of tech-enabled mass transit solutions, offering enterprise and government mobility products and services. Swvl operates in 4 countries across Middle East and North Africa.[2] The company went public in March 2022 and is traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker SWVL.[3]
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 2017 in Cairo, Egypt |
| Founder | Mostafa Kandil |
| Headquarters | Dubai, UAE |
Area served | |
Key people | |
| Products | Ridesharing, Vanpool |
| Revenue |  US$38.35 million |
Number of employees | 300 (April 2025) |
| Website | Official website |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
History
editSwvl was co-founded in Egypt in April 2017 by Mostafa Kandil and two of his school friends, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh with $30,000 of their own money. After four months, ridesharing company Careem invested $500,000.[4] Swvl began developing an app to address traffic congestion in Cairo, but then switched to developing it as a platform for booking cheap bus trips in the city.[5] In 2018, Swvl closed its Series A and Series B rounds of funding. Series A raised $8 million while Series B raised between $25-35 million, with a company valuation of around $100 million. Both rounds were co-led by Dubai-based BECO Capital, Africa-based investor DiGAME, and Silicon Badia.[6]
In June 2019, the company raised US$42 million[7] from venture-capital firms including Sweden’s Vostok, Dubai-based BECO Capital, China’s MSA, New York–based Endeavor Catalyst, Palo Alto–based Autotech and the Oman Technology Fund.[5]
In July 2021, Swvl signed a merger deal with the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Queen's Gambit Growth Capital, the first SPAC led entirely by women. As part of the deal, Queen’s Gambit CEO Victoria Grace and another executive joined the board of Swvl while two other SPAC members joined Swvl’s advisory board.[8] The deal valued Swvl at $1.5 billion, making it the largest Middle East–based unicorn to go public on the Nasdaq.[9] As part of the transaction, Swvl raised $121.5 million in private investment in public equities (PIPE). PIPE investors included Agility, Chimera, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Luxor Capital, Teklas Ventures and Zain.[3]
Shortly after the SPAC merger announcement, Swvl made a number of acquisitions, expanding into Europe and Latin America. In August 2021, Swvl acquired Shotl, an on-demand ride service that uses shuttles in Europe and Brazil. In November 2021, Swvl acquired ViaPool, a private-public hybrid mass transit company with operations in Argentina and Chile.[10] In March 2022, Swvl acquired Door2door, a Berlin-based software company that licenses its technology to cities, transport companies and private providers in ten European countries.[11]
The Queen's Gambit SPAC merger closed on March 31, 2022, and the combined company began trading under the ticker SWVL.[3]
Leadership
editSwvl was founded by Mostafa Kandil, Mahmoud Nouh and Ahmed Sabbah in 2017. Nouh and Sabbah left the company in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
CEO Mostafa Kandil at 24, Mostafa Kandil started his career at Rocket Internet in 2014, where he launched the car sales platform Carmudi in the Philippines, which became the largest car classifieds company in the country in just six months. He then served as Rocket Internet’s Head of Operations for Foodpanda, Rocket Internet's food delivery subsidiary. In 2016, Kandil left Rocket Internet for Careem, a ride-sharing company and the first unicorn in the Middle East, where he launched Careem across 8 cities in Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan. Careem is now a subsidiary of Uber, based in Dubai, with operations across 100 cities and 15 countries. Kandil graduated from the American University in Cairo in 2014 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Petroleum and Energy Engineering.
Services
editSwvl SaaS Platform – End-to-end transit management and optimization tools for enterprises and government clients. Swvl provides a comprehensive suite of services including:
Network planning – strategic design of transport routes and coverage
Route optimization – AI-powered adjustment of routes based on demand, traffic, and efficiency
Demand gathering – tools and campaigns to assess and project commuter needs
Rostering – automated and manual scheduling of vehicles and drivers
Shuttle services – dedicated daily transport for employees, campuses, or events
Operations management – centralized oversight of trip performance, incidents, and driver behavior
Vehicle sourcing and inspection – support in acquiring, vetting, and maintaining fleet vehicles
Swvl’s Value Proposition
editMassive cost savings through optimized operations and increasing fleet utilization
Full fleet lifecycle management
Turnkey implementation of transit solutions
Fraud prevention through real-time monitoring
Streamlined invoicing and financial processes
Support for clients’ net-zero goals
Improved accessibility, including first and last mile connectivity for transit agencies
White-labelled customer and driver apps
Swvl serves a range of industries, including schools, universities, public transit agencies, non-emergency medical transport (NEMT), factories, corporate shuttles, call centers, airlines, and others.
Swvl Select
editSwvl Select is a premium, luxury pick-up and drop-off service launched to cater to high-end clients and executive travelers. Designed to rival services like Blacklane, Swvl Select offers professionally chauffeured rides in upscale vehicles, emphasizing comfort, punctuality, and a seamless customer experience. The service is positioned as a white-glove mobility solution for airport transfers, executive transport, and premium point-to-point commutes.
Geographic Presence
editSwvl currently operates in the following core markets:
Egypt
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Kuwait
Recognition
editSwvl has been recognized as one of the most promising startups in the Middle East and Africa and has been featured in various tech and business publications for its innovative approach to mobility in emerging markets. The company has received accolades from Forbes Middle East and Entrepreneur ME, and was listed among the top 50 most-funded startups in the MENA region. Swvl has also been invited to present at global innovation conferences, including Web Summit and TechCrunch Disrupt, highlighting its role as a pioneer in smart mobility solutions for underserved cities.
References
edit- ^ "Swvl Holdings Corp 2021 Annual Report (Form 20-F)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 15 April 2022.
- ^ "About Swvl". Investor Relations. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ a b c Kene-Okafor, Tage (March 31, 2022). "All eyes are on Swvl as it starts trading on a SPAC combination". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ Wendel, Samuel. "Mostafa Kandil's App SWVL Is Helping Commuters Through Egypt's Traffic Snarls". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- ^ a b "Dubai's SWVL buys on-demand bus service Shotl". Zawya. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
- ^ "Majid Al Futtaim acquires UAE-based mobile wallet Beam". Metabyte. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
- ^ "Egypt Bus-App Swvl Raises $42 Million for African Expansion". Bloomberg.com. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ Driebusch, Corrie (27 July 2021), Ride-Sharing Startup Swvl Nearing Deal to Go Public With Female-Led SPAC, The Wall Street Journal, retrieved 30 March 2022
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Stevens, Pippa (28 July 2021). "Swvl, a green-focused mass transit company, is going public via an all-female SPAC". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- ^ "Swvl Acquires ViaPool in Follow-Up to Queen's Gambit SPAC Tie-Up". Bloomberg News. ISSN 1063-2123. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ Murphy, Martin (24 March 2022). ""Arabisches Mobilitäts-Start-up Swvl will mit Zukauf in Europa Fuß fassen"" [Arab mobility start-up Swvl seeks a foothold in Europe with acquisition]. Handelsblatt (in German). Düsseldorf, Germany. Retrieved 25 April 2022.