Moove, an African mobility fintech company that helps Uber and other gig network drivers finance their cars, has raised $76 million in new funds to grow its operations and investments in its countries.
The company stated in a statement that the new fund consisted of $38 million in previously undisclosed funds raised over the previous year, $28 million in equity from new and existing investors, with Mubadala Investment Company serving as the lead investor, $10 million in venture debt from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, and.
The company’s CEO and co-founder, Ladi Delano, stated that the investment by Mubadala will enable Moove to concentrate more on lucrative nations like the UAE, India, the UK, and South Africa. He also said that the company would put money into improving the customer experience and speeding up product development in order to make the whole group profitable in a year.
Read also: Moove rolls out vehicle advertising in South Africa, Ghana, India
Moove’s past mistake
In review, it’s possible to say that Moove’s deeds over the past few months, which have raised eyebrows, were all about reaching this goal. 500 people work for Moove. In December, the company-wide “layoff” affected an unknown number of workers.
There were also rumours that its drivers went on strike in May. The strike, which was covered by the media on its third day, was a way for the drivers to protest what they saw as unfair and cruel treatment by the company.
These stories haven’t stopped investors from putting money into Moove. The main investor, Mubadala, still has faith in their first investment in an African startup, and Faris Sohail Al Mazrui, their Head of Ventures & Growth, will join Moove’s advisory board.
“Move has built a highly scalable tech-enabled platform that gives mobility entrepreneurs around the world access to loans and other financial services that they didn’t have before. This is a hugely underbanked and underserved market that we think has a lot of long-term promise,” he said of his firm’s investment in Moove, which is also backed by global firms Speedinvest and Left Lane Capital.
A year ago, Moove got $105 million in Series A2 funding, which was made up of $65 million in stock and $40 million in debt. This new funding comes a year after that. Since its beginning, the company has used different kinds of debt financing, such as loans from British International Investment, Franklin Templeton Investments, and ABSA.
The company raised $23 million in its Series A round, which ended in 2021. Moove has raised $325 million, with $150 million coming from investors and more than $175 million from loans. With this new funding, Moove is now worth $550 million.
Moove’s ride-hailing financing model
Moove was started in 2020 by co-CEOs Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi in Lagos, Nigeria. Through revenue-based financing, it gives drivers who want to work in ride-hailing or other gig economy services flexible options, so they don’t have to borrow from car owners or get bank loans to buy cars from dealerships.
The website is where drivers sign up. Once they have been checked out, they are given training before the company gives them contracts so they can get loans to buy or rent cars. As job drivers, the company hires these drivers through Uber, which is its only ride-hailing partner in Africa, or through Glovo, Kobo360, and Swvl.
Then, Moove takes the weekly rental fees out of their earnings before sending the rest to their bank accounts. The loans last from 12 to 48 months, and when the drivers pay them back (with interest rates of 8% to 13%), they own the cars.
Moove had grown to 13 countries in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia as of last year. The company’s main office is in Amsterdam, and it has offices in Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, the UK, India, the UAE, and the UAE.
One of the earliest mobility fintech businesses, it provides long-term jobs and makes auto financing easier for mobile gig workers.
We were able to find a Nigerian solution to what we now recognise to be a global issue, Delano said. “This is exciting for us because not only do we have the chance to help mobility entrepreneurs in Africa who don’t have access to vehicle financing, but we also have the chance to bring this Nigerian-born solution to the rest of the world.”
Moove-paid automobiles have made over 11 million trips since their founding. The company gained consumers. Customers have more choices. For instance, its alternative credit scoring technology helps customers acquire vehicle loans that previously couldn’t.