The mobility sector of the African fintech industry is creating a huge market that investors can’t resist. From Nigeria to Kenya, Egypt and South Africa, mobility startups are increasingly raking in millions of dollars in investment funds.
In 2021, ride-hailing & taxis generated some 3.1 billion dollars in revenue, while car rentals generated roughly 1.4 billion dollars, per Satista. The industry is projected to generate more than four billion dollars in revenue by 2026.
With its untapped market, more startups are springing up and investors are betting huge sums on them. The latest among them is Moove.
The world’s first mobility fintech, has secured R300 million (US$20 million) in financing from Absa Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB). This comes a few weeks after the company also secured $20 million from BII, bringing its total funding to-date to over $200 million since its launch in 2020.
The startup’s latest funding will be used for its South Africa operations to strengthen its expanding vehicle financing offering to more customers.
Launched in 2020 by Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, Moove is democratising vehicle ownership across Africa by providing mobility entrepreneurs access to revenue-based financing in markets with low access to credit. Using its alternative credit scoring technology, Moove provides vehicle financing to its customers to purchase brand new vehicles using a percentage of their weekly revenue. Having experienced overwhelming demand and exponential growth across its six sub-Saharan African markets, Moove-financed vehicles have completed over 5 million trips to date.
The mobility space in Africa is highly fragmented and informal, and the sector represents an opportunity in a continent where high unemployment is rife. According to Statistics South Africa, over a third of South Africans were reported as unemployed during the first quarter of 2022, reaching a record 35.3% in Q4 2021. Moove will continue to scale its revenue-based vehicle financing model in South Africa, creating more jobs for mobility entrepreneurs to earn a living and own their vehicle.
Moove’s CEO and Co-founder, Ladi Delano, says, “At Moove, we pride ourselves on being a mission-led company that empowers its customers to earn their way to asset ownership through a sustainable source of employment. In Absa, we’re delighted to have the funding which will enable us to serve more Africans looking for a path to economic prosperity.”
“For decades, they’ve transformed the livelihoods of millions through access to financial services, making them an ideal partner for Moove to tackle this same mission in South Africa. With this new funding we’re strongly positioned to unlock new opportunities for mobility entrepreneurs across South Africa helping them generate income and ultimately driving the economy forward.”
Despite Africa’s status as the world’s fastest-growing continent, it has the lowest per capita car ownership rate, with over 1 billion Africans having limited or no access to vehicle financing. Moove has emerged as part of a new generation of African-born fintechs to lead the charge in the “mobility fintech” sector. This white space addresses the continent’s acute vehicle financing problem and empowers mobility entrepreneurs to become more productive and successful.
Morne Visagie, Head of Structured Asset Finance at Absa CIB says, “We are delighted to close this complex transaction with Moove, which has been an exciting journey over 18 months. This transaction enables the conventionally unbanked to gain access to finance, enjoy the benefits of their efforts and build a brighter future in a sustainable way”
Moove is Uber’s largest fleet vehicle supply partner in EMEA and has partnerships with several other mobility marketplaces, including Glovo, Swvl, Sendy, and Kobo360 across ride-hailing, trucking & logistics, last-mile delivery and mass transit. Since its initial launch in 2020, Moove has rapidly expanded to 13 cities across three continents.
