The News
Vehicle financier, Moove has raised $135 million within six months of fundraising. The company announced on Thursday that it has secured a $20 million financing in debt and equity from the British international investment (BII) to push out more financed vehicles into Lagos. This brings the total amount raised since launch to $203.2 million. Access to credit is never easy and no less difficult for a 3 year old startup.
Moove was launched in 2019 by two British-born Nigerians, Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi who run other businesses including a chain of clinics and pharmacies. The duo were educated at the London School of Economics, Oxford University and MIT.
Moove was founded to bridge the car ownership gap in Africa which according to Statista saw only 1 million sales in 2021 out of the total 69 million across the globe. Moove’s revenue-based scheme takes on 95% of the cost of a car and lets prospective owners pay in installments ranging from their revenues between 24, 36 and 48 months on a weekly basis.
Driving mobility across the continent
In July 2020, Moove landed a partnership with Uber to enable Uber drivers in Nigeria and Sub Saharan Africa to gain access to vehicle ownership. Moove-financed vehicles have completed 3 million rides covering more than 25 million kilometers.
The partnership is said to be driving a 50% female-drivers inclusion within the firm in a male-dominated industry.
Buying a car is a tall undertaking for average earners in Nigeria for instance, and a deal to pay for cars by installments is a rare one. Last August, after its $23 million series A round from Speedinvest and U.S.-based Left Lane Capital and Emso Asset Management, Moove began rapid expansion across Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda. The company has now expanded to Asia and Europe.
Moove runs a flexi rental model that leases vehicles for a short period of time, and drive-to-own options that span across 24 to 48 months. The company uses data on ride-hailing platforms, such as earnings and performance, to make credit decisions for lending to the drivers.
The mobility fintech also partnered with Egypt’s bus-hailing firm, Swvl, after its oversubscribed $105 million series A2 round in March to roll out 500 vehicles, 60% of which are either electric or hybrid.
Inclusive in the list of Moove vehicle financing are CFAO Motors -a department of CFAO Automotive, Africa’s largest automotive distribution network with a presence in 36 countries- and Lori systems – an e-logistics firm to drive truck financing services.
Moove’s financing scheme covers five car brands: Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Suzuki.
Moove has an exciting funding history
In February this year, the mobility company raised $10 million in a funding round led by NBK Capital Partners Mezzanine Fund II to gear expansion through West African markets.
More recently, the mobility fintech saw an investment of $20 million in funding from the UK government’s development finance institution (DFI) British International Investment (BII), formerly known as CDC Group. The investment reflects BII’s focus on mobilising capital to build self-sufficiency and market resilience in Nigeria, and improve access to inclusive economic opportunities while helping to catalyse the country’s boundless entrepreneurial ambition.
Nigeria is the BII’s biggest investment market in Africa, with a portfolio of nearly $570 million, through more than 100 businesses and 43 funds, which collectively support almost 45,000 jobs across the country in 2020.
On the current raise, co-founder and CEO of Moove, Ladi Delano, said, “With our new funding, we’re now in an even stronger position to use our technology and productivity data in creating a more inclusive financing ecosystem, whilst also tackling the unemployment problem affecting over a third of Nigerians by generating the opportunity for more seamless and sustainable employment.”
