<article>South African mobile conglomerate <a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/tag/MTN" target="_blank">MTN</a> invested €20 million in Iran Internet Group, the parent group of popular Iranian ride-sharing upstart <a href="https://snapp.ir" target="_blank">Snapp</a>.</article>

South African mobile conglomerate <a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/tag/MTN" target="_blank">MTN</a> invested €20 million in Iran Internet Group, the parent group of popular Iranian ride-sharing upstart <a href="https://snapp.ir" target="_blank">Snapp</a>.
The move is set to allow all Iran Internet Group companies gain a foothold in the Islamic Republic of Iran. MTN, a prolific investor in the Iranian telecoms scene, already has a partnership with Rocket Internet in the Islamic Republic and holds shares in Iran Internet Holdings and Irancell.
Shahram Shahkar, CEO of Snapp <a href="http://techrasa.com/2016/10/10/story-behind-snapp-22m-raise/" target="_blank">said</a>, &#8220;This funding will enable us to grow further in the country and to make this amazing service accessible to all Iranians. We as the first and leading e-haling app that is developed completely in-house by Iranian talent, are proud of all we have achieved so far and look forward to consolidating our position as market leader with the continued strong support of MTN.”
MTN MENA Vice President Ismail Jaroudi said, &#8220;We have been watching Snapp closely since its launch, and have been continually impressed with the strength of their team. In a very short time, they have dominated the Iranian car-hailing market and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership.&#8221;
Iran&#8217;s transportation market has over 27 million registered cars with 80,000 in Tehran alone. Of late, the country has been awash with a fleet of illegally operated cabs and has also seen subsequent abuse of these unofficial cabbies reports said.
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3830141/Hard-times-fuel-Tehran-taxi-glut.html" target="_blank">AFP</a> predicts that Tehran will have over 78,000 official cabs, which is five times more than New York City. That coupled with the fact that the US sanctions have kept Uber away from the country has been advantageous for Snapp.
The startup has already amassed over 10,000 drivers and 500,000 users since its inception in 2014. Founded by Shahram Shahkar, Snapp also has a 130 member workforce.
“We plan to invest in our current operations, expand to other cities, introduce different services such as premium vehicles and offer new features,” Shahkar said to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/09/with-a-e20-million-series-a-snapp-opens-up-ride-sharing-in-iran/" target="_blank">TechCrunch</a>.
Shahkar also revealed that Snapp&#8217;s pre-pricing system, which eliminates the threat of haggling, sets it apart from other ride-hailing apps. It also only works with officially licensed and insured drivers.
“We plan to invest in our current operations, expand to other cities, introduce different services such as premium vehicles and offer new features,” Shahkar added.
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Snapp, Iran's answer to Uber gets €20m investment from MTN

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Snapp, Iran's answer to Uber gets €20m investment from MTN

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