Bolt, which competes with Uber in Europe and Africa, doubled its valuation to 4 billion euros (~R68.4 billion) after raising money to finance a grocery-delivery service.
The Estonia-based company raised 600 million euros from investors including Sequoia Capital and Tekne Capital Management to finance a 15-minute grocery delivery service called Bolt Market in ten European countries over the next few months, it said in a statement.
Bolt, which operates in 45 countries in Europe and Africa, is bolstering the services it offers to its 75 million customers through its mobile app with grocery delivery joining food delivery as well as car sharing, ride hailing and even the use of scooters and e-bikes.
Car-sharing has been gaining momentum for the past decade, with peer-to-peer services or fleets of vehicles linked via digital applications available in most major cities. The mobility industry is attracting billions of dollars in funding with bets on disrupting the traditional car-rental business model and on changes in ownership attitudes.
Bolt said it plans to launch the grocery delivery service in the Baltics, Central Europe, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia and Romania.