Making Bus Travel Easy
The Background The global travel tech market size will grow by USD 6.4 billion during 2019-2023. Within travel tech, the online bus ticketing service market size is expected to grow by USD 1.21 billion during 2018-2022, thereby creating a huge growth potential for startups catering to this sector. The sector is currently highly offline with fragmented players and has a huge scope for digitization and consolidation through players like Busbud, who automate and speed up the ticket purchase process.
The Deal Busbud raises its Series C financing round for USD 12 Million for a worldwide expansion of intercity bus travel marketplace amid COVID-19 Pandemic. IEG – Investment Banking Group has acted as the financial advisor to Busbud in its fundraise with South East Asian investors and strategy.
The round is led by Canadian Business Growth Fund, Investissement Québec, Export Development Canada, BDC Capital and Singapore-based K3 Ventures, along with participation from existing investors Inovia, Plaza Ventures, and Claridge.
The Partners & Investors Founded in 2011, Busbud is an online marketplace that enables global travelers to shop for and book intercity bus tickets on over 2.3 million bus routes worldwide. Busbud specializes in intercity bus tickets and covers buses in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Busbud has a supply channel from 4,500 bus companies across 21,000 cities and 84 countries. The investor pool consists of a mix of North American & South East Asian investors setting them up in order for global expansion.
The Perspective The Series C funds will be used to fuel technology development, further grow the team and accelerate geographic expansion. The company has also diversified its activities in 80 countries, which will allow continued growth even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. With a mix of international and local travelers using Busbud's mobile website and app, Busbud is well positioned to benefit from the rise of in-country travel as travel restrictions gradually ease up around the world until a fuller recovery.
