Nigerian auto financing platform ‘Mooves’ to India

It is common for Indian technology start-ups to expand into Africa. But in a rare reversal of business trend an African tech start-up has decided to enter India. Moove – which provides financing to ride-hailing, e-logistics and instant delivery drivers – has announced its plans to expand into India. The innovative Nigerian firm aims to put 5,000 hybrid or electric vehicles on Indian road in its first year with service offerings to Uber drivers in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. It appears to have spotted a market gap in India where freelance gig-economy drivers find it difficult to get car finance because they are unable to produce credit history– a situation very similar to that in Nigeria where it first started operations in 2020.

Moove started in 2020 by targeting gig-economy drivers who have previously been excluded from owning their vehicles due to a lack of credit history. The start-up has developed an alternative credit-scoring system by using performance and revenue data from platforms such as Uber to underwrite loans to customers. Through Moove’s ‘drive to own’ model, customers receive financing of up to 95% of the purchase price of new vehicles, which they can choose to repay over 24 to 48 months. According to Moove CEO Ladi Delano, many on-demand transport and delivery companies in Africa are not reaching their full potential because of a shortage of vehicles. 

Moove, Uber’s exclusive vehicle financing and supply partner in sub-Saharan Africa, has since expanded to Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda. In addition to Uber, it has partnered with several African on-demand transport and logistics platforms, including Lori Systems and Sendy, and now also offers financing for two-wheelers, trucks, and buses. 

Several African-based start-ups have expanded their services to other emerging markets that often grapple with the same challenges as the continent. Egypt’s Paymob allows businesses to accept digital payments. It has entered Pakistan and plans to use part of its recent US$50m series B funding round to launch in new markets in the Middle East. Similarly, Nigerian payments platform Paga, which was founded to offer mobile money solutions to unbanked Nigerians, has announced its intention to roll out its offering in Mexico. According to Paga CEO Tayo Oviosu, there are several large economies worldwide where financial inclusion problems still exist.

Mass transit platform Swvl started in Egypt in 2017 by providing a private bus ecosystem, meant to be a more comfortable and reliable alternative to public transport. The business has since moved its headquarters to Dubai and now offers shared transportation services in countries such as Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan, Argentina and Chile.

In the edtech space, South African-founded FoondaMate – which provides students who have limited access to computers or wifi with study materials through a WhatsApp chatbot – plans to use the capital from a recent investment round to expand to Indonesia (where FoondaMate is currently in beta), Mexico, Pakistan, India and Brazil.

 

References

‘Nigeria’s Paga acquires Apposit, confirms Mexico and Ethiopia expansion’, TechCrunch, 20 January 2020

‘Moove rolls into Kenya and broadens vehicle financing to bikes and trucks’, Moove, 14 December 2021

‘Egyptian MaaS startup Swvl enters Turkish markets with latest acquisition’, TechCrunch, 26 April 2022

‘Paymob raises $50 million Series B round’, Wamda, 09 May 2022

‘SA’s FoondaMate raises $2m seed round to close education inequality gaps’, Disrupt Africa, 27 May 2022

‘British International Investment launches new name in Nigeria with US $20m commitment to mobility fintech Moove’, British International Investment, 30 June 2022

‘Ladi Delano (Moove): Fintech solutions for unlocking latent demand for multi-sided marketplaces’, Marketplace Conference, 03 July 2022

‘Uber’s financing partner has raised $23 million to create more car owners in Africa’, Quartz Africa, 20 July 2022

‘Moove launches in India’, Moove, 26 July 2022