Dutch venture capital fund eVenture Africa Fund (eVA) and local venture capital investor Kukula Capital have invested US$500,000 into Zambian e-commerce company Dot Com Zambia. The company plans to use the investment to expand locally and into other regions within Southern Africa.

The investment will enable Dot Com Zambia to roll out its propitiatory digital bus ticketing system across Zambia and, through Kukula and eVA's network, begin further piloting across Southern African.

In a statement, eVA Fund managing director Vincent Kouwenhoven said Dot Com Zambia fits with eVA's mandate to build world-class technology platforms for Africa.

"While many more of today's investors are looking for investment opportunities like Dot Com Zambia in major markets in Nigeria and Kenya, we are the first tech fund investing in this space in Zambia," said Kouwenhoven.

He added, "And we believe with this investment, a Zambian tech entrepreneur can set the example for this country, for the Southern region of Africa, and one day maybe, for the whole of Africa".

Dot Com Zambia is said to be the fastest growing e-commerce company in Zambia with 18 employees and $741, 000 in revenue in 2014.

The company has two subsidiaries: Import Zambia and Book Now Zambia.

Import Zambia is an e-commerce platform that allows Zambian customers to shop from local and international retailers while Book Now Zambia, which includes the Bus Tickets Zambia brand, is a technology platform that allows customers to reserve, pay and receive bus tickets electronically.

Dot Com Zambia founder and chief executive officer Mawano Kambeu said, "this is the ultimate dream come true for any young entrepreneur. With eVA and Kukula on board, Dot Com Zambia has the expertise and financial muscle that will allow us to enhance our operation and grow faster to create value for our clients and the Zambian economy".

According to eVA and Kukula, Dot Com Zambia's progress to date shows that there is a growing demand for e-commerce products and services in the country.

Therefore, the capital injection is expected to accelerate the company's growth by improving the customer experience in its e-commerce division and roll out the ticketing system to bus operators who seek a more cost and time-efficient way of issuing tickets and running their operations.

In Zambia, the online sales market is dominated by technology companies including Dot Com Zambia, the Zambian Market place and courier companies including Mercury courier.