UK-based Zeelo’s South African business acquired by SA mobility startup LULA

The UK-based Zeelo’s operations in South Africa will be acquired by LULA, an enterprise ride-sharing platform based in South Africa. This acquisition will allow LULA to grow considerably.

LULA is a ride-sharing service that was founded eight years ago by Xabiso Nodada and Velani Mboweni. With the help of technology, people can be picked up from their homes and transported to and from work in a safe and dependable manner.

While Zeelo, based in the UK, is a smart bus platform for businesses that offers customizable turn-key and plug-in transportation programs for school runs and commutes, it is similar to LULA. Zeelo’s South African operations will switch to LULA’s solution as a result of the deal.

LULA has maintained a consistent annual growth rate of 2.5x to 4x over the last five years, even with disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and a worldwide recession.

In order to grow and expand LULA’s business in South Africa and other African markets, the acquisition will result in an increase in clients, vehicles, operating partners, and employees.

“Significantly, the acquisition of Zeelo‘s operations in South Africa means that LULA becomes a profitable business, with enough breathing room to scale smart, rather than scale fast,” Nodada said.

In 2018, Zeelo began operations in South Africa; however, as part of a strategic realignment, the company is now focusing on expanding into the UK, Ireland, and North America.

“It has been a remarkable journey and we are grateful to our team, clients and suppliers for giving us the opportunity to serve them. Whilst the decision to exit the region was a challenging one, we are excited to support the transition of our customers and suppliers to the LULA platform and look forward to witnessing LULA’s future successes in tackling the transportation challenges in South Africa,“ said Sam Ryan, founder and CEO of Zeelo.