How to find investors in Africa and create a winning pitch deck

The success of ride-hailing companies, even the most promising ones, depends on one crucial factor – business investment. For ride-hailing startups, securing funding is essential to scale operations, enter new locales, navigate industry challenges, and stand out from competitors. 

Finding business investors brings financial backing and offers strategic guidance, connections, and credibility—a win-win for a new business trying to attract users. 

We created this article to help you explore how African ride-hailing startups can learn how to find investment and craft compelling pitch decks to find investment opportunities for businesses' growth journey.

How to choose the right investors for your ride-hailing startup?

Investors are people or organizations who provide seed money for a startup in exchange for  a return on investment (ROI). Investors offer this money to achieve passive income, so they may have the right to suggest and cooperate with you throughout the business development. 

How your investor may be involved in the process depends on factors like inner agreements and the funding stage. Some businesses prefer to avoid partnering with investors as they worry third parties will have a say in changing the product. 

Choosing the right investor and understanding all your options will always be key to achieving the expected results and, with the investor's involvement, improving the end product for market success.

Here are six different types of investors to consider for your ride-hailing company:

Angel investors

Angel investors provide initial seed money for startups, usually in exchange for ownership in the business. These investors may either offer one-time seed money or assist with product development until the product reaches the market. 

One reason for choosing this type of investment is the fact that angel investors expect money back only if and when the ideas succeed. Or they just seek an equity stake and a seat on the board within the company.

Venture Capitalists

Venture capitalists (VC investors) are investing in small businesses with only high growth potential in exchange for equity within the company when the idea succeeds. Unlike Angel investors, VCs are usually much more selective and strict in their guidelines regarding whom they will fund. 

If you want to attract VCs, you will need a solid business plan, MVP, and proven measure of success. Partnering with a VC often means parting with a stake in your business and possibly a say in management and development choices — like another co-founder who has a say in decisions. 

It's always best to list all terms and rights of all parties when partnering with such investors to ensure your business needs will be satisfied according to both sides.

Impact Investors

These investors seek small businesses to invest in domains focused on renewable energy, housing, healthcare, education, microfinance, and sustainable agriculture. 

For example, if you are looking for business ideas with low investment, consider a ride-hailing startup with electric vehicles that support ecology. Here this type of investment may be your best funding option.

3 best platforms to connect with investors

If you wonder where to find investors, consider the following platforms:

1. AngelList

AngelList is one of the biggest startup platforms, with over 5 million members, 100,000 startups, and investors who work together. The platform's best feature is that it allows startups, including ride-hailing ones, to find and connect with angel investors for free.

What do you need to do?

Create a profile for your company by filling out an application form to start using the platform. Once the application has been accepted, AngelList will help you connect with investors and workers by creating a list of possible investors that you may want to contact based on your application. Investors will carefully explore your profile and connect with you if they find your idea profitable.

2. Crunchbase

Investors often use Crunchbase when looking for startups to fund as the platform offers detailed profiles of businesses for investment, including funding history, data on founders, and industry trends.

Crunchbase allows investors to identify key startups in specific domains and track funding rounds. This helps them to more easily find companies worthy of investment while founders can focus on improving their initial offerings. 

3. LinkedIn

Even though LinkedIn has always been focused on job seekers and HRs, you can also use it to find business investors. As a startup founder, you can easily grow your profile and connect for good business investment opportunities. Think of LinkedIn as a way to document and share any startup development stages. Grow a community around your page for both – those who will later be interested in using your ride-hailing apps and those who may want to help you along the way. 

4. Learning and networking options

Securing investment as an African startup involves building a strong network within the on-demand industry. Networking makes it much easier to connect with those investing in small businesses, mentors, and industry leaders who open doors for a range of opportunities aside from funding. Here are some of the best ways to build this network:

Incubators: incubators offer startup mentorship and various resources so they can build their products during the early stages. Some organizations are also happy to connect investors with such startups using their services, where inventors may offer their guidance. Consider the following African incubators:

• MEST Africa: this incubator provides training and investment for startups across the continent.
• iHub Nairobi: it's one of the leading incubators that supports early-stage tech startups in Kenya.
• CC Hub: Based in Nigeria, CC Hub focuses on tech-driven startups and offers funding and mentorship.

Accelerators: these organizations were specifically built to help startups by investing in businesses, offering mentorship, and connections to investors over a set period. Accelerators are usually highly interested in mobility and ride-hailing startups. Some of the options you can check are:

• Google for Startups Accelerator Africa: this one supports African startups by offering tech mentorship on product development and investor connections.
• Startupbootcamp AfriTech: this accelerator focuses on scaling high-growth tech startups across Africa and offers funding, mentorship, and easier access to investors.
• Y Combinator: although not exclusively available for Africa, many African startups have successfully found investors through this organization.

Startup events: attending relevant events allows startup owners to grow their network faster, become more visible on the market, and sometimes partner with other startups. For example, ride-hailing companies can partner with hotel and food delivery startups to create a super-app ecosystem.

Here are two worth-visiting events in Africa for 2025 as an example:

• Africa Tech Summit (February 2025, Nairobi, Kenya): this is one of the leading events for African startups covering mobility, FinTech and smart city industries.
• E-mobility and infrastructure Africa Summit (May 2025, Nairobi, Kenya): this event will be focused on electric vehicles and solutions related to ecology and infrastructure improvement, so it's one of the best places for ride-hailing and mobility startups to pitch their ideas to investors.

5. Connecting with relevant influencers in the African mobility market

In addition to seeking business investment opportunities, startups need to increase their market visibility and gain trust among future users. Credibility will also boost your chances of attracting great business investments. 

That's why startups may want to partner with influencers, participate in podcasts, and appear in the media. Here are some options to consider:

• @arabianbusiness is a business influencer who offers startups one of the best business podcasts with insights on transportation, mobility, banking and finance, marketing, and media coverage, to name a few.
• Ahmed Abou Hashima is an entrepreneur and business expert who has made unique contributions to and representing the Egyptian economy and society in business and politics.
• @butrussaid_arabic is one of the leading business podcasts in the Arabic sector. 

How to impress investors: creating a winning pitch deck

A pitch deck is used to pitch your idea to investors. One key aspect of a pitch deck is to organize it based on the audience and forum to which it is being presented. Developing a winning pitch deck is all about presenting a compelling story with clear, data-driven insights.

Here are some essential components for your ride-hailing pitch deck focused on Africa:

1. Company overview

Introduction, Mission, Vision: here, you want to start with a clear, concise introduction of your company. Let's take one of the most unique ride-hailing apps in Africa as an example - HerRyde. Here is in more detail:

• Mission. Why does your ride-hailing startup exist? For example, your mission may sound like "We aim to empower African women and make rides safer than ever before." 
• Vision. What is your long-term goal? "To become the first choice for women passengers and drivers, solving safety and discrimination problems women have faced."
• Tagline. Include a tagline or a brief slogan that sums up your value proposition. As an example: "Women Driving Women: Safety and Empowerment". 

2. Market opportunity

At this stage, you want to let your investors know what you will be dealing with both - issues and opportunities your market has to offer. Here is how you can structure this block of the pitch deck:

• Provide data on market size: familiarize investors with what country (countries) you plan to enter with the app, and show industry trends, smartphone penetration, and growth in transportation needs in numbers.
• Challenges: Discuss issues like traffic congestion, lack of public transport, or safety concerns. Then, explain how these factors create a growing need for ride-hailing services and how your app specifically will help solve those problems. For example, extensive training driver verification, 2-step interviews, and clear background history for safety concerns.
• Target market: Break down your target customers by demographics, regions, or behaviors and explain why those people would be interested in using your app over others. For example, affordable pricing, various payment methods, or extra features your app provides, like hotel bookings and delivery.

3. Problem and solution

This is the key block of the pitch deck that has to illustrate a detailed overview of your business impact on the existing market. By the end of the block, investors should clearly see why your app exists and how exactly it will solve this "why." Here is a brief of what to consider:

Problem: Define the transportation challenges faced by your target audience. For example:

• Inconsistent transportation availability in certain cities or neighborhoods.
• High costs or lack of safety in alternative transport modes.

Solution: Explain how your ride-hailing service solves these problems. For example:

• Advanced authentication methods;
• Extra safety measures;
• Lower costs;
• Bonuses for drivers for excellent service;
• In-house driver education and exams;
• Tailored solutions to invest in local businesses.

Ensure you show investors how your solution will benefit users and drivers and how it stands out from the crowd.

4. Business model

Here we are talking solely about the money aspect of your business: how exactly do you plan to earn money, and what are your long-term estimates are:

• Pricing: How do you price rides? Are you offering competitive rates in comparison to local taxis? How will you handle price changes if required? How will you justify those prices so users opt for your app?
• Revenue streams: Aside from rides, will you have add-ons (partnerships with local businesses, extra features, or advertising)?
• Unit economics: outline key metrics like customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, and profit per ride to demonstrate sustainability.

5. Traction

If your app has already been on the market for some time or tested by a chosen group, you may also want to share the following details in the pitch deck:

• User growth: Show how your customer base has grown since launch.
• Partnerships: Discuss key partnerships you have already established or plan to. These could include local businesses and government affiliations.
• Market validation: Provide data that proves market demand — testimonials, app downloads, repeat customers, or regional adoption statistics.

6. Go-to-market strategy

Outline your plan for acquiring users and scaling when finding investors for startups. Discuss the following details:

• User acquisition: will you focus on social media, referral links, local marketing campaigns, influencers, or partnerships?
• Geographic expansion: Which African markets do you plan to expand into first, and why? Discuss local regulations, infrastructure, and demand for each local.
• Retention strategy: how will you ensure drivers and users alike stay with your app rather than choosing a competitor?

7. Competition analysis

You want to share direct and indirect competitors, including the most popular ride-hailing apps and local public transport, so investors can see what you will be dealing with and why you may need funding to compete with the biggest market players:

• Differentiation: ensure you have unique selling points (e.g., localized features, lower fees, safer rides).
• Provide a competitive matrix: shows how you outperform others on key aspects (price, availability, safety, service variety).

8. Team

Showcase the key members of your team and why they are best suited to lead a ride-hailing startup. Include brief bios highlighting expertise in spheres that are valuable to your ride-hailing service – transportation, legal, technology, design, and so on.

9. Financial projections

Provide realistic and well-researched revenue forecasts that include:

• Key financial metrics: projected customer growth, revenues, when you expect to achieve profitability, and how it will look in numbers.
• Show a breakdown of operational expenses and explain your key costs (e.g., driver acquisition, platform development, driver education, and marketing).

10. Investment ask

Be clear about how much you need in funding, and then explain how exactly this money will be used:

• Breakdown of allocation: product development, marketing, operations, market expansion, and team growth.
• Highlight the desired milestones this investment will help you achieve (for example localization, increasing driver base, or developing new features).

How Onde.Light can help you get investors 

Onde.Light, as a free ride-hailing solution, helps ride-hailing startups launch their apps with small business investments. Applications built on top of Onde get up to 1,000 trips completely free of charge, while after that, you will be charged only a 1.9% commission per trip with up to 10,000 trips per month. 

This highly flexible and affordable solution will work perfectly for businesses with little investment that aim to reach new markets without the high costs of developing and maintaining their own software.

One key reason for choosing Onde.Light is that it enables you to start your ride-hailing business using your own branding. This means you can develop your own brand identity, unique features, and marketing and grow a customer base without being overshadowed by third-party platforms.

Using this platform at the very beginning will help you show traction: generate notable results and metrics that you can later show investors for higher chances of funding.

Conclusion

It's important to target the right investors when trying to launch an African startup. Finding investors who align with your vision, values, and sector will increase the chances of getting fundraised. That's where a well-prepared pitch deck will serve as your startup's business card, so make sure you craft a compelling one that clearly translates your business model, growth potential, and impact. 

Be mentally prepared that you may face rejection, but each interaction is an opportunity to learn, improve, and refine your approach. Stay as open to feedback as possible, learn from mistakes, ask for guidance if you have an opportunity, and adapt to investor concerns to continually evolve your pitch. With the right strategy and mindset, you will increase your chances of attracting investors who want to find startup businesses to invest in and support its growth.