Autochek, an automotive technology company, is scaling its financial services into a full subsidiary that will focus on providing a range of vehicle financing solutions for consumers and businesses in Africa.
Launched in 2020, Autochek has helped consumers across the continent own their desired vehicles through financing solutions. The company said it has worked with over 70 financial institutions and more than 2,000 dealerships to process over 80,000 car loan applications.
Tapping into its wide network of car dealerships, the company originated auto loans powered by data analytics that makes it easier for financial institutions to offer credit to consumers.
The launch of Autochek Financial Services enables the company to double down its efforts to accelerate access to finance for Africans and to improve the speed, structure, and pricing of auto financing on the continent.
“We want to empower more Africans with seamless access to vehicle financing and we are looking forward to delivering more solutions to bridge the affordability gap and make it easier for more Africans to purchase the vehicles they want,” said Etop Ikpe, founder and CEO of Autochek.
The subsidiary will be headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, and will be led by Johan van der Merwe. Merwe comes with over 20 years of experience in risk, credit, and asset finance.
Before joining Autochek Financial Services as CEO, Johan had previous roles as Chief Risk Officer at WesBank Motor (one of South Africa’s leading vehicle and asset finance providers) and SA Taxi (a vertically integrated company that provides financing, insurance, and other services for the minibus taxi industry in South Africa). He will head a leadership team with more than 60 years of Africa-focused automotive and ecommerce experience.
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“There is a great opportunity to drive shared value for consumers, manufacturers, financial institutions, and other stakeholders by unlocking financing and I strongly believe that we can build the infrastructure to make this happen. Etop and the team have done a lot of outstanding work to deliver the success Autochek has seen to date and I am looking forward to working with them to deliver more success and more growth across the continent’s automotive sector,” said Merwe, Chief Executive Officer of Autochek Financial Services.
Autochek Financial Services will continue to support Autochek’s Marketplace platform, which partners with car dealers and other service providers to make it easier for consumers and businesses to finance their vehicles. It will also provide best-in-class technology and advisory solutions to car dealers, financial institutions, and other stakeholders in Africa’s automotive ecosystem, supporting them to improve credit decisions, collections, pricing, portfolio management, and product development, as well as deliver an enhanced customer experience.
