*”From WhatsApp Bookings to $5M Raised”: How Damilola Olokesusi Built Shuttlers to Fix Lagos Traffic*If you’ve ever spent 3 hours in Lagos traffic, you know exactly why Damilola Olokesusi started Shuttlers.What began as frustration with danfos, one-chance fears, and unpredictable commutes has now become one of Africa’s leading shared mobility companies.
Shuttlers has completed *over 10 million trips*, raised *more than $5 million*, and became Nigeria’s first private shared mobility platform on Google Transit.But the journey started with zero buses, Excel sheets, and a whole lot of grit.*The problem was personal*Olokesusi didn’t grow up planning to be a founder. Her parents spent 35 years in civil service. Stability was the goal. She studied Chemical Engineering because “that’s where the oil and gas money was.”Two moments changed everything:
1. *The Lagos culture shock*: After growing up in Ibadan, moving to UNILAG meant her first danfo ride. “The shouting and the chaos terrified me,” she said.
2. *Family trauma*: One of her sisters survived a “one-chance” robbery. Olokesusi developed PTSD using public transport.
3. *A glimpse of what’s possible*: A trip to Dubai showed her underground trains and transport that actually worked. “I made myself a promise. If I had to commute in Lagos, I wanted to build a service I would gladly use myself.”*Starting with nothing but hustle*Shuttlers launched in 2016, but the 2015 pilot was pure scrappiness. No vehicles. No app. No funding.Olokesusi and her co-founders booked cabs through ride-hailing apps and told drivers, “We have a month-long gig for you.” Their first customers? Friends at a startup called Generation Enterprise.When money ran out and a co-founder left for the US, Olokesusi kept going.
She pitched bus operators — all men — who laughed at three young women trying to do transport. Her parents also pushed her to get a “real job.” Her answer: “Give me one year.”The turning point came in September 2016. Shuttlers won a startup competition at the Presidential Villa. She met the Vice President and Mark Zuckerberg. Newspapers picked it up. Suddenly, the same bus operators who laughed called back: “Come and try these two 13-seater buses.”For the first 25 customers, Olokesusi was the conductor. She took attendance on WhatsApp, tracked wallet balances in Excel, and sent weekly email receipts.
“I still have those emails and I laugh at how far we’ve come.”*From grants to $5M+*Instead of chasing VC early, Shuttlers chased customers. Corporate clients like Andela became the breakthrough — 100 users in one pilot proved businesses would pay for organised commuting.Grants from Airtel, Sahara Foundation, Ford, and World Bank programmes kept them alive. By the time they raised institutional money, Shuttlers had already done *$1M+ in revenue* without VC.Today they’ve raised *over $5M* with another round coming. Investors bought in because the business had already proven itself.
Tech also changed the game. Hiring CTO Akachukwu Okafor helped them turn WhatsApp and Excel into real software. That’s how they scaled from 1,000 to 10,000+ users.*What’s next: More than just buses*Shuttlers isn’t just moving people anymore. The platform now:- Helps *160+ transport operators* get vehicle financing and working capital- Powers *corporate mobility* and advertising- Is pushing *CNG buses* — 30 already switched, cutting costs by 40% and emissions- Plans for *electric vehicles* long termAnd in a major win, Shuttlers became the first private shared mobility platform integrated into Google Transit in Nigeria. To Olokesusi, that’s proof the infrastructure they built can one day support public transport through PPPs with state governments.Her vision now? “Moving millions across multiple African countries. And maybe a global stock exchange one day.”From danfo chaos to building what she calls “the operating system for urban mobility in Africa” — Damilola Olokesusi turned a daily Lagos problem into a continental solution.
What’s the worst commute story you’ve had in Lagos or your city?
Drop it below 👇_By AfroCaribbeanTV Business Desk_#Shuttlers #DamilolaOlokesusi #LagosTraffic #AfricanStartups #WomenInTech #AfroCaribbeanTV—
