Firm Raises $23m To Assist Uber Drivers Acquire Cars

Moove, an African mobility fintech, has raised $23m to help Uber Technologies drivers buy cars.

The company was Co-founded by Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi British-born Nigerians in 2019 to scale up car acquisition in the continent and a special focus in Nigeria.

The fresh $23m was raised in Series A funding led by Speedinvest, Left Lane Capital and Emso Asset Management, an existing investor.

With the new funding, Moove’s total funding has moved to $68.2m.

“This brings Moove’s total funding to $68.2m, including $28.2m in equity and $40.0m in debt. Moove is the first investment in Africa for many of its U.S. VC backers, underscoring the opportunity for a platform like Moove to address the continent’s vehicle financing gap,” it said in a statement.

Moove said it will use the $23m to build a full-service mobility fintech that democratizes vehicle ownership across the continent.

The startup said with 1.3 billion people in Africa, the market opportunity is vast.

Moove explained that in 2019 Africa had fewer than 900,000 total new vehicle sales compared to 17 million in the U.S, a gap which it hopes to bridge.

Moove is Uber’s exclusive vehicle financing and supply partner in Africa and has embedded its alternative credit-scoring technology onto ride-hailing and e-logistics platforms, which allows access to proprietary performance and revenue analytics of mobility entrepreneurs to underwrite loans.

The company provides loans to its customers by selling them new vehicles and financing up to 95 per cent of the purchase within five days of sign up.

Customers have options to pay back their loans over 24, 36, or 48 months, using a percentage of their weekly revenue.

Delano, co-founder said, “In a continent full of opportunity, mobility is key to moving economies forward and this funding contributes to our ability to provide revenue-based financing, as Moove empowers Africans to safely become mobility entrepreneurs.

“We help people buy new cars who otherwise couldn’t afford them. And then, using the vehicle as a mobility entrepreneur, they’re able to earn money, which allows them to pay off the vehicle over time.”