JEDDAH: From the UAE to Saudi Arabia, invygo aims to solve today’s public transport problems.
Public transportation is underdeveloped in the Middle East and North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey, where only 33 percent of residents have access to it.
The firm, invygo, was established by cofounder and CEO Eslam Hussien in the UAE in 2018, and began its operations in the Kingdom in 2020.
They have received almost 1,000 customers in the Kingdom since they arrived, and almost 3,000 customers in the UAE.
“Only 140 people, out of a thousand, have a passenger car in the MENA region, and that is one of the lowest rates in the world. And to just give you an anchor on how it compares to the developing countries, both Brazil and Russia hover at 300 per 1,000,” he told Arab News.
The company enables people to get a car on a monthly subscription without any credit checks, no bank statements, and no surprises in terms of charges. Customers can swap cars every month and pay the difference, this includes service, maintenance, roadside assistance, even a replacement car.
“You know exactly how much you are going to pay for the car. And without debt or the commitment to a debt,” he said.
“You get to upgrade, downgrade or return the car on a month to month basis with a very minimal fee,” he added.
The transport firm has had 9x growth since the peak of the pandemic (April 2020 till
today), indicative of the demand for flexible car experiences.
In that time it has also raised $4.2 million. The investors included Signal Peak Ventures, JS Group, Wealth Well, Knollwood Investment Advisory and Saudi investors Faisal Al-Kadi, Khalid Al-Khudairi and Ahmed Alola.
It supports dealers and rental companies to monetize inventory with 40,000 cars available across 50 brands. In the Kingdom, Enterprise (Al Jomeih), Budget Saudi and Al Jabr are some of the company’s partners.
46 percent of invygo’s customers are women across all markets. Customers can download the mobile application, and browse and pick the car that fits their needs.
All a customer must bring is their national ID and driver’s license. They can purchase the service through Apple Pay, Google Pay, debit or credit cards, even Mada.
“You go through a simple process where you tell us when and where you want your car to be delivered and the car will be delivered all the way to your doorstep,” he said.
“We’re actually 33 percent cheaper than monthly car rental in Saudi Arabia, and 25 percent cheaper than a one-year leased car from any financial institution,” he added.