National bank of Kuwait (NBK) Capital Partners Mezzanine Fund II has announced that it closed a $10 million financing facility with Uber’s exclusive vehicle supply partner in Africa, the mobility fintech Moove. The innovative asset-backed venture debt marks the sixth investment from the Fund advised by NBK Capital Partners.
The growth facility from the Fund will support Moove’s expansion in West Africa initially. Moove is the first investment in Africa by NBK Capital Partners funds, underscoring the opportunity for a platform like Moove to address the continent’s vehicle financing gap.
“The company is driven by strong founders who possess a unique, long-term vision for success, one built on the empowerment of individuals from every socioeconomic class across the region but also a genuine commitment to social and environmental sustainability,” Ladi Delano, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Moove said.
Founded in 2019 by Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, Moove is an African mobility fintech that is democratizing vehicle ownership by providing revenue-based vehicle financing to mobility entrepreneurs across Africa.
Africa is home to 1.3 billion people, with 43 percent in urban areas and growing, and in 2019 had fewer than 900,000 total new vehicle sales compared to 17 million in the U.S. Moove provides vehicle financing for cars, bikes and lorries to mobility entrepreneurs across the continent through its alternative credit scoring technology and innovative revenue-based financing model and is Uber’s exclusive vehicle financing and vehicle supply partner in sub-Saharan Africa.
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The company currently operates in six cities across Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya, with plans to expand further across the continent.
“This investment brings our total funding raised to date to $78 million and will fuel our continued growth trajectory as we expand our regional operations to empower more mobility entrepreneurs. We are grateful to be working with a firm that supports our vision to build the first mobility fintech for Africa markets, tackling the problem of lack of access to credit for millions,” Delano said.
According to the company, through year-end December 2021, more than 2 million trips have been made in Moove-financed vehicles since it launched operations in 2020.
“Using our alternative credit-scoring technology and revenue-based model, Moove is empowering more women to access financing and become mobility entrepreneurs. We’re committed to ensuring that at least 50 percent of our customers are female, providing them with the tools, services, and flexibility they need to be productive and successful, when previously they have been excluded from more formal means of employment,” Jide Odunsi, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Moove, said.
