Plentywaka, Nigeria’s first bus hailing startup, changes name to ‘Treepz’ to drive African expansion

Plentywaka, Nigeria’s first bus hailing startup firm, has rebranded its name to Treepz to reflect its expansion plans to other African countries.

In a statement on Thursday, the startup said that the change of name would take effect immediately — from September 10, 2021 — adding that it better represents the company’s vision in building the largest shared mobility platform across Africa.

Onyeka Akumah, Treepz CEO, explained that the decision for rebranding the firm’s name is because ‘waka’ can have different meanings across the continent, which he said, “may be completely different from travel or movement”.

According to him, the startup had been looking for a globally acceptable name for the last six months in creating the right kind of positive emotions around bus trips on the African continent.

“This name change is a result of in-depth discussions with our stakeholders, partners and staff,” Akumah said.

“The new name boldly states our mission to provide safe, convenient and comfortable trips across Africa with plans for our expansion to 6 countries in 2 years on the continent.”

He further said existing users of the Plentywaka app won’t have to take any action as the new app will automatically force an update to the new Treepz experience in Africa.

Last month, Plentywaka raised a $1.2 million seed round to scale its operations in Africa. 

It also acquired Starbus, a Ghanaian mobility startup, which will officially be launched on September 16, 2021.

In June, Akumah told TheCable that Plentywaka moved over 320,000 people in nearly two years.

He had said the company would continue to push forward.