Treepz launches in Canada and secures the University of Toronto’s sponsored program as their first corporate travel client in North America
In celebration of National Black Business Month, the City of Brampton proudly welcomes Treepz, a leading Black-founded mobility and transportation tech company, as it establishes its North American headquarters in Brampton. This milestone highlights Treepz’s continued growth and underscores Brampton’s commitment to supporting Black entrepreneurs, inclusive innovation, and global business expansion.
Treepz, one of Africa’s fastest-growing corporate travel startups, has officially launched in Canada, which is a major milestone in its global journey. With full support from the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, and in partnership with organisations like the World Trade Center’s TAP program by Black Entrepreneurship Alliance, and the Brampton Entrepreneurs program, this move is a proud moment not just for Treepz but for Nigerian startups and Africa as a whole.
From its humble beginnings in Nigeria, Treepz has grown into a Global Startup that operates in 25 cities across 5 countries — including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and now, entering North America through Canada. With over 6 million customers served to date, Treepz continues to reshape the way corporate and travel mobility work through smart and tech-driven solutions. With this Canadian launch, Treepz is proving that African startups can tackle global problems and scale successfully.
From L-R, John Shaibu (Co-Founder & Senior VP, Customer Engagement, Treepz), Enagwolor Johnny (Co-Founder & President, Treepz), Mayor Patrick Brown (Mayor of Brampton, Canada), Onyeka Akumah (Founder & CEO, Treepz), and Ebenezer Arthur (Partner, BKR Capital & Member of the Board of Directors, Treepz).
Why Canada?
In 2021, Treepz went through the Techstars Toronto accelerator, where it met with the City of Brampton team at the time, and its CEO, Onyeka Akumah, met virtually with Mayor Patrick Brown to discuss a future where the company would expand to Canada. Since then, Treepz has gone on to attract several investors and venture capitalists from Canada to support its growth in other markets, including its expansion to Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya two years ago.
With more than 16.5 million Canadians commuting to work every day, according to Statistique Canada, while 38.7 million traveled out of Canada for holidays in 2024 alone, this fueled Treepz’s interest to enter into the North American market, starting first with Canada.
The company has now received more support from several organisations in Canada to not just establish its Global Headquarters in Ontario Province of the country but also commence operations.
Treepz Canada’s first client partnership with the University of Toronto’s sponsored African Impact Initiative
To commence operations, Treepz announced a 2-year partnership with the African Impact Initiative, supported by the University of Toronto at its launch of Treepz Canada. This partnership will see Treepz provide corporate travel solutions to this group, who will be traveling to 4 African countries every year from more than countries globally, including Canada. Treepz will provide all flights, accommodation, experience, and its trademark ground transportation service across South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda.
Mayor of Brampton Welcomes Treepz
Treepz chose to launch its Canada operations at the City Hall in Brampton, and Mayor Patrick Brown warmly welcomed its founders, members of the board of directors at Treepz, and team members. He expressed his full support and excitement for what this launch means to him and Brampton, Canada.
According to Mayor Brown, “Treepz has brilliant founders, entrepreneurs, and I will not be surprised if this becomes a global brand. 6 million users in its first 5 years in multiple countries? It’s purely impressive. It has a very good idea of what it is building. Corporate mobility is part of the global logistics conversation, and they are at the heart of that conversation in Treepz.
Grateful they have launched and been part of our BHive program. It’s an exciting time for them, and Brampton as a city will be cheering for the success of this company to ensure it becomes a global brand.
If you can handle traffic in Lagos and handle that mobility for staff there, you can handle traffic anywhere in the world. So, I am excited to say, Treepz, welcome to Canada! Welcome to Brampton! Welcome home”.
Erica Henry-Jackman, who is the City of Brampton’s Manager for Investment Attraction and International Relations, also shared her excitement about Treepz launching in Canada. According to her, “we are truly excited and I am personally excited for personal reasons. When we started the BHive Program in Canada, Treepz was our first Nigerian company, and after COVID, you were part of our delegation. So it’s a bit of a homecoming moment.”
Onyeka Akumah, Founder & CEO of Treepz, shared his excitement as well at the launch of Treepz in Canada. In his words, “The launch of Treepz Canada is a strong positive statement of intent for not just our company but how we represent all African startups. We can truly build globally acceptable and reputable brands right from the streets of Lagos, and Treepz is just one more startup that proves this. We are proud Nigerians who have worked tirelessly to make this happen. So today, I celebrate my co-founders, Johnny and Atums. I celebrate my board of directors, I celebrate my stakeholders and investors, and most importantly, I celebrate my team that supports us. We are now a global brand directly serving customers on 2 continents, including Africa and North America. But it’s still day one and we have approached this launch like the first day we launched on the 16th of September in 20219.
Thank you to the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, and his team, including Garnett Manning, Erica Henry-Jackman, Uche Okugo, and Alison Theodore, who have supported us since 2021, leading up to this day. We are also grateful to the likes of Efosa and Osas Obano, who ensured we could secure our first contract with the University of Toronto’s sponsored African Impact Initiative. It’s been almost one year of work, but we are now live, and from here on, we invite more corporations to choose Treepz as their corporate travel partner. The evidence of 6 million customers we’ve served for more than 5 years is proof that we are ready to serve you as well.”
Original source: Treepz Blog
About Treepz
Treepz (pronounced ‘trips’) is Africa’s leading corporate travel & mobility startup. Since launching in 2019, it has helped over 6 million people move safely, reliably, and affordably using tech-powered transportation across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda.
With operations in 25+ cities and growing, Treepz is proudly supported by top investors like Google, SOSV, Techstars, BRK Capital, and Shock Ventures. As Treepz continues to expand, the mission remains clear — to make corporate and personal travel more accessible, efficient, and sustainable across Africa and beyond.
To learn more about Treepz and its corporate travel services, visit: www.treepz.com
About the African Impact Initiative
The African Impact Initiative is a community founded by the University of Toronto. It empowers young visionaries to solve real problems through sustainable, impact-driven ideas. From supporting early-stage entrepreneurs to engaging communities from underserved areas, African Impact Initiative creates a space for African talents to excel through initiatives that focus on entrepreneurship, career growth, and leadership.
About the City of Brampton
As one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, Brampton is home to 800,000 people and 111,000 businesses. People are at the heart of everything we do. We are energized by our diverse communities, we attract investment, and we are embarking on a journey to lead technological and environmental innovation. We partner for progress to build a healthy city that is safe, sustainable, and successful. Visit brampton.ca to learn more.
For media inquiries, please contact Corporate Communications.
Be in-the-know about Brampton’s business community
Stay up to date on the latest workshops, seminars, and events from the Brampton Economic Development Office. Let's grow your business!
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Invest in Brampton | Economic Development. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
- Explore Brampton Economic Development’s events.
- Invest Brampton is also on X (Formerly Twitter) and Instagram and has a news blog.
- Contact us! Learn more about Invest Brampton here.
