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Thursday, 17 March 2022

Swvl to invest USD 15 mn in Argentina expansion

Mass transit firm Swvl is investing USD 15 mn in Argentina over the next three years to scale the company’s operations in the country, CFO Youssef Salem told Enterprise. The investments will target research and development, and supply and customer acquisition, he said. Swvl also plans to use the funds to create an “engineering hub” in Latin America, allowing it to scale across the continent, according to a company press release.

Viapool becomes Swvl: The company late last year acquired a controlling stake in South American firm Viapool, which operates in Chile and Argentina and is now rebranding as Swvl, Salem told us. The Viapool brand will still be used for the company’s B2B operations, he added.

Background: Swvl entered Latin America for the first time late last year with its acquisition of Viapool, following a soft entry a few months earlier with its acquisition of Spanish firm Shotl, which operates its on-demand SaaS platform in Brazil.

REMINDER- Swvl is about to go public through a SPAC. The company is gearing up for a listing on the US Nasdaq, which is expected to happen “on or around” 31 March, should the shareholders of its SPAC, Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital, approve the listing in their meeting on 30 March.

IN OTHER INVESTMENT NEWS-

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund plans to invest in Egypt: The Madbouly government inked an agreement with the Saudi government to develop a framework for the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to invest in Egypt, the cabinet said yesterday in a statement. This comes after meetings held between the PIF and the Planning Ministry.

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