Oui Capital invests in Mauritius first app-based mobility startup, Vite

Oui Capital—an Africa-focused venture capital firm—has made an undisclosed pre-seed investment in Vite Technologies, a ridesharing startup in Mauritius.

As the first app-based mobility startup in one of the best tourist destinations in Africa, Oui Capital said, the pre-seed investment would provide Vite Technologies with the financial and operational support it needs to fully launch in the first quarter of this year.

The General Partner of Oui Capital, Olu Oyinsan, told benjamindada.com that prior to the pre-seed round, Vite Technologies had previously received funding from some angel investors in Mauritius. And this was corroborated by Vite's CMO, Anthony Takyi.

We already raised money from angel investors. So, Oui Capital's investment serves as a great boost.

The Vite app allows users to access transportation service by matching riders with drivers who have partnered with Vite Technologies. During its beta-testing phase, which lasted three weeks, Vite said it completed more than 500 trips, recorded 5,000+ user sign-ups and 150+ drivers registered on its platform.

The startup, Vite was co-founded by Ukeme Jonah (CEO) and Isaac Agyemang (COO) in May 2016 due to the inconvenience they experienced while organizing a TEDx event in Mauritius. They couldn't get a taxi on-demand and they had to pay two-way fares for one-way trips.

The other founding team members are  Anthony Takyi (CMO) and Tilal Hussain (Tech Lead).

Navigating the beautiful island of Mauritius could be onerous. Tony Smart, who writes for CNN Travel, said: "To get around Mauritius, you can use taxis (find a good one on your day and stick with him), hire a car or use one of the many tour companies in Mauritius like White Sands Tours or Mauritours".

Every year, over 1.2 million tourists and business travelers visit Mauritius.

We operate a multi-modal platform that fits whichever service works in every city we plan entering. In Mauritius for example, there is a heavily regulated taxi ecosystem and so private cars are not allowed to be commercialized. Our model allows us to fit there, as well as, fit in spaces where private cars or motorbikes are allowed.

Olu added that the business model of Vite allows it to work with both taxi drivers and private cars unlike Uber and Bolt. Both of whom are currently not operating in Mauritius.

Like Oui Capital which got its name from the french word for yes—Oui, the ridesharing startup also got its name from the french word for 'fast' or 'quickly', Vite.

According to Oui Capital, Vite believes Mauritius island is a strategic gateway to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, which comprises of 16 countries including Angola, Seychelles, South Africa and Zambia. Uber and Bolt currently operate only in two of the 16 SADC countries, namely, South Africa and Tanzania.

We are excited to partner with this visionary team to change the face of mobility in the Southern African market. Mobility has been and remains one of our fund’s core verticals because we believe connecting people and goods is a vital part of creating prosperity on the African continent.

With this investment in Vite, Oui Capital has now invested in four startups, including Awabike—a bicycle-sharing company, MVXchange—an on-demand vessel chartering services, and AMopportunities—a startup that provides access to on-demand United States clinical experience for medical student and doctors.