Inq. Digital Wins Double at Tech Innovation Awards (TIA) 2022

Treepz, Africa’s shared-mobility startup,  is set to launch Business Treepz, a new service aimed at providing staff bus solutions and bus rental service in a structured, accessible, and predictable manner for corporate organisations including companies, schools, tour operators and individuals.

Treepz announced the launch of this new service over the weekend at an event to commemorate the company’s three year anniversary across Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda.

Business Treepz takes away the pain for organizations and individuals who want to rent or hire a high quality bus for their companies, schools or events. The service promises to provide customers with the same high-standards that Treepz is known for in making commuting better for its customers using its technology.

This service will also help organizations to better manage their business operations by providing them with fleet management solutions backed by technology and data. In turn, these organizations will save time and money while improving the efficiency of their own services.

Parents can now track the commute of their kids to school and back, making sure they’re safe during their journey. Tour companies no longer have to worry about conveying their clients around the city or between cities – they can simply order a bus  through Business Treepz and enjoy peace of mind while they’re on vacation!

Speaking on the launch of the new service, Onyeka Akumah, the Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of Treepz, said, “We are excited about launching Business Treepz today because following up on the feedback from our customers, we can better fulfil the requirements of organisations looking to benefit from our high quality transportation service that also allows the use of technology through our app or websites in Africa.

We are focused on growing our partnerships with businesses and schools to make sure more Africans can move comfortably and safely to wherever they have to go driven by our technology and data.”

Business Treepz is an online platform for users to book a bus tailored to their specific needs with just one click, without having to go through numerous rental platforms or pay exorbitant amounts of money. The service has been designed with the user’s convenience and comfort in mind and will give them access to all types of bus options. Users can choose from a variety of vehicles which allows them to get a bus to get around town easily.

Business Treepz has so far partnered with top organisations, startups and tour companies including Reddington Schools, Wakanow, Tek Experts all in Nigeria, while the likes of Charter House (organisers of Miss Malaika) and MTN in Ghana have also enjoyed its service.

The largest musical event in East Africa with close to 20,000 in attendance called Nyege Nyege Music festival has also been powered by Treepz for transportation needs.

In its pilot phase over the last 3 months, Business Treepz currently provides transportation for 2,000 children in schools daily while making provision for over 1,500 employees of companies similar to a staff bus solution but with data.

So, today, with its full launch, the company is excited about the prospects of growing its client base significantly.

Focusing on Treepz recent accomplishments, the company won the Global Startup awards in Africa beating over 7,000 startups to win the category Industrial Tech company of the year.

It has also completed more than 2 million customer journeys with over 150,000 registered riders and over 2,000 heroes across East and West Africa. Treepz is establishing itself daily as the leading shared mobility platform on the African continent and boasts of investors like Google, Techstars, SOSV, LoftyInc and several other reputable VCs to scale its operations.

On the 3rd anniversary celebration Onyeka said, “We continue to focus on how we build a world-class company that Africans will be proud of its accomplishments in making transportation better on the continent.

To this end, I celebrate my team, co-founders, key stakeholders, partners, riders, heroes/drivers and everyone who has supported our growth to where we are today. It’s still day-one for us and we go back to the drawing board daily to figure out how we do this incredible work of making transportation better for Africans one country at a time.”

Going forward, Treepz will be focused on expanding its services in the three core markets while seeking for partners in new African countries especially in Southern and Northern Africa,

The company continues to ensure it’s at the forefront of sustainable transportation solutions powered by electric and gas vehicles to save CO2 emissions and there will be more around this in the coming years.

ISSA has announced that Central Securities Clearing System plc (CSCS), Nigeria, has become a member organisation of the Board of Directors of ISSA, effective September 2022. Haruna Jalo-Waziri, CEO of CSCS, is accordingly appointed to the Board of ISSA.

The ISSA Board has set themselves the ambition of ensuring the Association is diverse and fit for the 21st Century, composed of a wide spectrum of firms involved in the Securities Services value chain globally.

Welcoming the first African firm as a Board member institution reinforces ISSA’ s aim to ensure relevance and leadership in all regions, and particularly in the growing continent of Africa.

Haruna has over 30 years of experience in financial market. At the early stage of his career, he worked with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the apex regulatory organization of the Capital Markets in Nigeria.

He worked in the investment banking business of Afrinvest West Africa (formerly SECTRUST) and pioneered the Asset Management Department of Kakawa Discount House Limited, which he played active role in transforming to a full fledge company “Kakawa Asset Management Limited” (now FBN Merchant Bank).

He later joined the services of First Alliance Pension & Benefits Limited (now part of ARM Pensions Limited), one of the pioneer pension fund administrators established in Nigeria, partnership with Mcube South Africa. In 2007, he was appointed MD/CEO of UBA Stockbrokers Limited, a subsidiary of United Bank for Africa (UBA Plc).

He successfully transformed the hitherto loss-making entity into a profitable business and saw it grow to become one of the top-5 securities trading companies in Nigeria within three years of his leadership. He thereafter became the MD/CEO of UBA Asset Management Limited.

In 2012, Haruna Jalo-Waziri was appointed the Executive Director, Capital Markets of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (now Nigerian Exchange Group Plc), the premier capital trade point in Nigeria and leading African Exchange. He had primary responsibility for the overall capital market developments.

He implemented key initiatives such as partnership between the Nigerian Stock Exchange andthe London Stock Exchange Group (which berth dual listings of Nigerian corporates on both Exchanges), development of the Green Bond market (with the pioneer instrument being the Nigerian Sovereign Green Bond), introduction of Federal Government Retail Savings Bond, Launch of the NSE Premium Board, and MSCI Index Partnership- GICS Adoption amongst others.

He has been CEO of CSCS for almost 5 years and is the Vice President of the Africa & Middle East Depositories Association (AMEDA). He has recently represented the World Forum of CSDs at the ISSA Operating Committee, so he is ideally suited to join the Board.

Phil Brown, ISSA Chair, stated: “CSCS is a great addition to the ISSA Board, bringing not only in-depth knowledge of Africa, but also a forward-thinking and technologically advanced perspective.

ISSA is committed to building its brand on the continent and ensuring the relevance of its products to all market segments – and the presence of CSCS on the Board will ensure that ISSA delivers on this commitment.

“Haruna is a known quantity at ISSA, having served and actively contributed on the Operating Committee. He will undoubtedly bring his skills and personality to the Board, and I am delighted that he will be joining us. ”

On accepting the nomination Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Chief Executive of CSCS, said: «I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute towards global capital market development.

I look forward to deepening my engagement with ISSA towards advancing its crucial role in the global securities services industry for the mutual interest of all members and more importantly the integrity and efficiency of the market.

Since becoming an Operating Committee Member, I have more than ever appreciated the real value that ISSA brings to the market and the potentials of its coordination of securities services stakeholders across the ecosystem.

ISSA’s willingness to listen to stakeholders and take proactive actions towards advancing the industry has resulted in concrete positive changes and tremendous knowledge exchange amongst member institutions.

CSCS joining the Board is an honour for us and we are excited that Africa is duly recognised as a critical part of the global market ecosystem, relevant for driving ISSA’s mission to shape the future of securities services.