Swvl

December 26, 2019

SWVL
Swvl, LLC, stylized as SWVL, is an Egyptian bus transportation network company based
in Cairo, with operations in more than five countries. It operates buses along fixed routes and
allows customers to reserve and pay for them using an app
Swvl is a revolutionary idea that was born from passion, loyalty, and persistence to face all
challenges on the table, Swvl is not just a mean to facilitate commuting, but a hunger to strive for
solutions, encourage the contribution of youth in innovation and inspire change.
It started with an observation turning into a realization, too many cars on the streets, wasting our
limited resources: time, space and money.

We had to question why we depend so much on our cars? and what are the consequent pains of
moving around the city? Rush hours, traffic, terrible driving habits and unavailability of parking
spots came rushing through our minds in addition to the pain of high cost of on-demand services.

While an affordable decent public commuting solution is not accessible, we thought how can we
improve people’s lives? And here Swvl was created, revolutionizing the transportation scene in
Pakistan, through providing a technology-based alternative to public transportation, a smart
solution that solves the transportation equation, leading to helping more commute for less, with
ease and comfort.

It was founded in April 2017 by Mostafa Kandil

“We are not just aiming to solve a demand problem, but also a supply one. We want to provide
drivers with a stable source of income, as well as providing riders with a comfortable, convenient
experience,”

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December 26, 2019

History
In early 2019, it expanded its operations to Kenya. The company has partnered with BRCK for
free wifi in its buses. In the same year, it also expanded to Nigeria.
In June 2019, the company raised US$42 million for its expansion in Africa.
In July 2019, it expanded its operations to Pakistan, starting with Lahore. In September, it
expanded its operations to Karachi, and Islamabad. The company announced that it has plans to
invest $25 million in Pakistan.
In October 2019, they were banned in Kenya due to regulatory issues.

SWVL is an app that offers an alternative to expensive taxi rides and long walks. The idea for
the service stemmed from increases in urban traffic, mounting fuel costs and the rising price of
on-demand transport services – all of which were making it harder for people to move around.

SWVL connects a city’s minibus network with commuters by creating fixed and dynamic daily
lines that can be booked via mobile. This new mass transit service is available in three cities in
Egypt and Kenya, with plans to expand into eight further cities this year.

Swvl is a premium mass transit system that provides buses to every neighborhood in Cairo. It
allows people to share a ride in a van or bus during morning and evening commutes for a fixed
flat fare with no surge pricing. Through an app, one can book a ride at an affordable rate.

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December 26, 2019

SWVl Founder
Most of you have already heard about Egyptian public transportation startup SWVL that just
received $500,000-investment from Careem. The story of SWVL and its founders is
extraordinary in every sense. Co-founded by three friends who studied together at elementary
school in Egypt, SWVL’s initial success should inspire every regional entrepreneur.
Their Co-Founder & CEO Mostafa Kandil joined American University in Cairo at the age of 16
to become a Petroleum Engineer. After an internship with Schlumberger, he decided that it’s not
something that excites him so he applied for an internship at Google and was one of the thirty
people who got selected from Egypt to intern at Google’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East &
Africa) headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. He then went on to found a company for Rocket Internet
at the age of 21 in Philippines.
After founding Carmudi there, he and rest of the team scaled it to 40 people and different cities
in six months. Then he came back to Egypt to work for Sawari Ventures & Otlob (another
Rocket Internet startup) before moving to Dubai to join Careem as a Market Launcher and help
company launch 8 new cities including Istanbul and different cities in Pakistan & Saudi Arabia.
Worked there for six months only to eventually launch his own startup, SWVL

We are trying to build a platform that connects all forms of transportation in emerging markets.
So what we want to do is most emerging markets have very troubled public transportation
system even if they have one. So what we want to do we want to build an alternative public
transportation system that is affordable, reliable and convenient

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December 26, 2019

Some Main Question to Swvl Founder

What you’ve achieved in the last six months is stuff of dreams. How do you feel about it and all
the hype that you’ve been getting since the announcement of Careem’s investment in SWVL?
o I have mixed feelings. Obviously, I am very happy about the fact that my team and I
have reached this far in such a small amount of time. When we first came into this
space, everyone thought we are crazy. They thought we are taking on Careem & Uber
and we wouldn’t be able to survive. No investor was willing to take us seriously. This
investment by Careem proves that we can actually make it.

But happiness is not the only feeling. I am scared as well. All this hype and attention
we’ve been getting esp. after Careem’s investment comes with a lot of responsibility
towards all our stakeholders; captains, customers, everyone. We are trying to build
something that even some governments struggle to do; a public transportation system.

It’s one of the most difficult things for countries to build a public transportation
system in emerging markets and we are some 24-year-olds trying to take on this
challenge so yeah it’s scary. Normally public transportation is a loss making machine
in these countries as it requires huge infrastructure. What we are trying to achieve is a
sweet spot between quality and pricing.
What is it that you’re trying to achieve with SWVL? What’s your vision?
o We are trying to build a platform that connects all forms of transportation in emerging
markets. So what we want to do is most emerging markets have very troubled public
transportation system even if they have one. So what we want to do we want to build
an alternative public transportation system that is affordable, reliable and convenient.

At the same time, we want to connect this public transportation system to other forms
of transportation including on-demand transport, river transport to extend the reach
and to make sure that customers get to their destinations in cheapest and most
convenient manner. In simple words, we want to build an operating system for
affordable and convenient public transport in emerging markets.
What’s the biggest risk that you’ve ever taken and how did it turn out?
o To honest since I started, I have taken quite a few risks. I think the biggest risk was to
shift from being Petroleum Engineer to doing something else. It was not easy to study
something and then end up doing a completely different thing. Also, your parents
could never really understand what you’re doing. When I called my mom to tell her
how I made it to Forbes after Careem’s investment. She was like ‘good for you’be

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December 26, 2019

EXPANSION PLANS
What are the future plans of SWVL about expansion?
o We want first to expand in Egypt, to be able to cover as many cities as possible.
Starting the expansion with second biggest city in Egypt – Alexandria and then in
2018 expand to countries like Pakistan, Jordan & Saudi Arabia
Why Pakistan?
o Pakistan –yes, it’s a bit unconventional for a Middle Eastern startup to go there but
there are 200 million people living there and it lacks a good public transportation
system so there’s a lot we can do there.
Was Pakistan expansion always on cards or did it become a part of your strategy after receiving
funding from Pakistan as they already have operations there?
o No, it was always a part of our strategy as I have been to Pakistan and have a good
idea about how we can contribute to improving the public transportation system there
but yes now having Careem on-board would definitely help us big time

Around the world, public transportation is a loss-making machine. If you can take this load off
the government and privatize it in a way that is super cheap and creates job opportunities, you
are revitalizing a sector.” – Mostafa Kandil

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December 26, 2019

Marketing Strategies of Swvl

SWVL connects a city’s minibus network with commuters by creating fixed and dynamic daily
lines that can be booked via mobile. This new mass transit service is available in three cities in
Pakistan , with plans to expand into further cities this year.
As an entirely new concept, SWVL needed to gain exposure for their mobile app and reach
mobile users who commute on a daily basis. The team used Google Ads with strong calls to
action to motivate people to download the app, sign up for the service and make bookings.
Meanwhile, SWVL’s YouTube ads were designed to raise brand awareness
As a startup, it was important to generate demand with the lowest possible budget. By combining
the power of Google Analytics with Big Query, Data Studio and Firebase, the team made
intelligent use of digital information to get the very best performance out of every ad.
Demographic
For instance, SWVL segmented the audience by demographic, location and operating system in
order to drive the highest conversion rates with the lowest cost. By carefully optimizing the
budget according to the segment and placement, the team could systematically improve
conversion rates across the entire funnel. Post-install, SWVL’s targeting quality then helped the
team optimize the cost of in-app actions.
SWVL’s strategy has enabled the startup to achieve a 90% growth in customer acquisition with
higher quality of sales, which continues to contribute to a higher conversion rates across all
funnel segments. Since launching Google Ads three quarters ago, the brand has gone from 80
employees to more than 350 – and they’re still growing. The brand owns the largest fleet of
buses in MENA and controls more than 80% of the market share.

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December 26, 2019

SUCCESS STORY
This Egyptian startup scored a 2.2X increase in app installs during a monthlong campaign to
raise brand awareness and promote its city transit booking app.

2.2X
increase in app installs

90%
increase in completed signups

over 58,000
app engagements

Reinventing public transport

Fast-growing tech startup Swvl is reinventing public transport, one city at a time. Its app
connects local commuters with a city’s private minibus network, allowing them to book fixed
rate routes and transit times in just a couple of swipes.

THEIR GOAL

Turning awareness into action

Since launching in 2017, Swvl has relied on Facebook to spread the word about its service. For
its December 2018 campaign, it wanted to fuel growth by first building awareness and then
encouraging app installs further down the line.

Swvl first created audiences for its campaign according to age and location (such as the cities
where the service is currently active), as well as more specific factors like app user behaviors and
mobile operating systems. It also created lookalike audiences based on people who had already
installed the app and on people who had booked journeys through Swvl.
Then, Swvl used its existing video content to create short, localized video ads that it could show
to relevant people across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network. It built

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December 26, 2019

awareness with informational videos that demonstrated the benefits of Swvl and encouraged
people to install the app by running further ads with the app install objective and call to action.
Swvl also conducted split testing throughout the monthlong campaign to make sure it was
reaching the best-performing audience segments with its best-performing ad creative and
achieving the most efficient and cost effectiv.

Market Definition of Swvl.

With an aim to revolutionize public transportation in the country, SWVL also believes in
supporting startups and revolutionizing Pakistani startup ecosystem.
With the influx of job creation and aid in citizen's mobility, SWVL, albeit being a foreign
startup, feels pretty much closer to home.
SWVL is the leading high technology company on the mass transportation market. We are a
fast-growing data driven company which is disrupting the public transportation market in Egypt
(and abroad) making people's lives better in their daily basis.
Their Customers and Potential Customers are netizens and the students and Employed persons
who are coming from different areas of Rawalpindi, Taxila, Rawat, Wahcantt, to Islamabad for
Job.
They mainly focus on the internet user customers those who are aware of internet and online
system.

Market Segment.
For instance, SWVL segmented the audience by demographic, location and operating system in
order to drive the highest conversion rates with the lowest cost. By carefully optimizing the
budget according to the segment and placement, the team could systematically improve
conversion rates across the entire funnel. Post-install, SWVL’s targeting quality then helped the
team optimize the cost of in-app actions.
But in Pakistan Swvl firstly focus on Lahore, Islamabad and then Karachi. They first select their
market segments on Demographic basis (Area base) and then target the high rider’s people who
are coming daily to Islamabad. Swvl solve their problem by giving then a comfortable transport.
They mainly target Islamabad because there is a big market for Swvl because there is a big
network of universities and private and government organization and their students and
employees are coming regularly and they faced a big issue in old transport structure. Swvl target
this thing and they become successful in targeting these people as their customers and potential
customers.

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December 26, 2019

Competitors.
They have not a big competitor in Pakistan but in Egypt they have many competitors. In Pakistan
their only competitors are Careem and Uber but now Careem Investment in Swvl that Boost
Swvl Business.

Marketing Strategies.
Since launching in 2017, Swvl has relied on Facebook to spread the word about its service. For
its December 2018 campaign, it wanted to fuel growth by first building awareness and then
encouraging app installs further down the line.
Swvl used its existing video content to create short, localized video ads that it could show to
relevant people across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network. It built
awareness with informational videos that demonstrated the benefits of Swvl and encouraged
people to install the app by running further ads with the app install objective and call to action.

Marketing Tools.
Facebook
Instagram
Video Adds
Facebook is the more effective Platform of Swvl Awareness.

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