Mobility sector vehicle financing options platform Moove raises $105 million as it charts a course for Europe

Nigerian-born, Amsterdam-headquartered Moove has raised $105 million in a Series A2 round. This raise adds on to a $23 million Series A round announced in August of last year, bringing the company’s total funding to date to $173.2 million.

Moove provides entrepreneurs active in the mobility sector, e.g. ride-hailing, logistics, or last-mile delivery marketplace services, with revenue-based vehicle financing services. Currently operating in Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, and Ibadan, the company intends to use the funding to make a strong push into 7 new (unspecified) markets in Europe, Asia and MENA by the end of June of this year.

With the growth, and growing pains, of the gig economy being massively accelerated by the pandemic, there’s been a developing industry bubbling up just below the surface addressing a number of pain points. However, the number of services supporting gig economy workers might be a moot point if the necessary tools, or upfront investment capital to obtain them, aren’t readily available.

In the case of ride-hailing, logistics, or last-mile delivery services, each one of these operations requires a vehicle of some type. But if a budding entrepreneur doesn’t already own said vehicle, the chicken and egg problem becomes readily apparent. Financing a vehicle is an option, but a minimum credit score is often involved, oftentimes a barrier to entry.

Now compound this conundrum in the emerging tech market that is Africa, an area of the world with low access to credit, resulting in fewer than 5% of all vehicles purchased via financing options, and vehicle ownership numbers less than 44 cars per 1,000 people. 

In comparison, 91.8% of all vehicles in Europe are purchased via financing options with an ownership ratio hovering around 569 per 1,000 people.

Launched in 2020 by Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, Moove is addressing this divide, integrating its technology with ride-hailing, logistics, and instant delivery marketplaces, and using an alternative credit scoring method to offer customers brand new vehicle financing options, all based on a percentage of their weekly revenue. In Nigeria, Moove offers this service with attractive interest rates, between 10 and 13 percent, whereas banks average between 20 and 25 percent.

Experiencing overwhelming demand and exponential growth across Africa, the company counts over 3 million trips completed via vehicles they've financed, amassing some 25 million kilometers on the collective odometres.

But when you look past just the capital, Moove is offering much more than just financing options. The company’s ethos includes promises: 50% of Moove’s customers are women, 60% of all loans are used to purchase EV or hybrid vehicles, and all drivers are provided banking services via the Moove wallet.

“These ideals are at the core of what we do as we continue to build a sustainable and impact-driven global business,” commented Odunsi.

And now the startup is aiming to bring this model to a much wider audience.

Moove’s $105 million equity and debt Series A2 funding round was led by existing investors, Speedinvest, Left Lane Capital, and thelatest.ventures, with new investors including AfricInvest, MUFG Innovation Partners, Latitude, and Kreos Capital participating.

“Ladi and Jide are redefining what fintech can be, championing the use of revenue-based vehicle financing to empower people through employment and ensure platforms such as Uber have a steady flow of drivers and couriers to enable their business expansion,” commented Speedinvest’s Stefan Klestil. “With six markets under their belts already and partnerships with leading platforms, they are ready to further scale. We’re delighted to be backing Moove again as they grow the business across the world.”