Kenya’s Little to expand to Tanzania and Ghana

Little, the ride-hailing company based in Kenya, has announced plans to expand its operations across east and west Africa.

The firm intends to launch its service in Tanzania and Ghana by May this year. The company also aims to raise around US$50mn from its investors, reported Reuters.

The business is currently valued between $70mn and $75mn, according to the Chief Executive Officer Kamal Budhabhatti.

Tanzania’s capital city, Dar es Salaam, will be subject to Little’s ride-hailing service from next week, whilst the company will reach Ghana’s Accra by May.

“We are meeting a couple of investors, both on the continent and in Silicon Valley. The interest is there,” revealed Budhabhatti.

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Additional funding will be used to drive technology development and national expansion.

Little attracts its drivers by offering them to earn more money by selling additional services during to customers during their journeys.

“Our drivers are agents, they can sell insurance to you, they can sell [mobile] airtime, they can pay light and/or water bills, they can do all those little things around that increases that income,” the CEO added.

The business has partnered with Kenya’s largest mobile operator, Safaricom, for marketing purposes.

However, the service is available to Kenyans without a smartphone. “About 20% of our rides actually come from non-smartphones,” Budhabhatti noted.