Ex-Grab PH boss’ transport startup gets local toll giant boost

Philippine startup Byahe, a modernized jeepney operator with a community platform, has sold a minority stake to Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) under tycoon Manny Pangilinan.

Photo credit: saiko3p / 123RF

The investment will go through MPT Mobility, MPTC’s mobility services unit. Specific financial figures for the deal were not disclosed.

Byahe connects different jeepney stakeholders such as drivers, operators, lenders, manufacturers, and government regulators to push for industry modernization. It manages 30 Euro IV-compliant modernized jeepneys plying eight routes in the Philippines’ Luzon island.

Former Grab Philippines president Brian Cu and IP Ventures CEO Enrique Gonzalez founded the company in 2020. MPTC’s share purchase will fund Byahe’s planned expansion from 200 to 500 jeepneys across 20 to 30 routes over the next two to three years.

See also: Ex-Grab Philippines head seizes a generational opportunity with new startup

“We are only in phase 1.0 of building a nation-wide, green & sustainable urban transportation network that will redefine the quality of Filipino lives in the decades to come,” said Byahe’s co-founders.

MPTC earlier said that MPT Mobility would have no more than US$19 million in capital expenditures this year.