Auto financing startup, Autochek raises $13.1m seed funding to accelerate its expansion

Nigerian automotive trading startup Autochek has announced the closure of a $13.1m seed funding round. This is coming less than a year after it raised $3.4m in a pre-seed round thereby bringing the total amount of investments to date to $16.5m.

The round was led by TLcom Capital and 4DX Ventures with participation from Golden Palm Investments, Enza Capital, Lateral Capital, ASK Capital and Mobility 54 Investment SAS.

Autochek helps users to buy, sell and service and finance car sales through their mobile app, available on android devices. Founded in June 2020 by Etop Ikpe, the startup is operational across East and West Africa in 5 countries – Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Cote d’Ivoire.

Walter Baddoo, Managing Partner at 4DX Ventures said the startup possessed the expertise needed to to build a complete car ownership experience for customers and they were excited at the prospect of Autochek’s next phase of growth.

 “Autochek is revolutionising the auto industry in Africa by offering the convenience and selection advantage of an auto e-commerce platform together with the added flexibility of financing.

Walter Baddoo, Managing Partner at 4DX Ventures

“We have enjoyed working with the team so far, and they have demonstrated the talent, ambition, and domain expertise needed to build a complete end-to-end car ownership experience for customers. We are excited to partner with the team as they pursue the next phase of their growth,” he finished.

Deepening auto-finance penetration in Africa

Autochek uses technology and data analytics to strengthen auto finance penetration across Africa. In just a year, the startup has achieved rapid traction across its business, especially in the area of auto-financing where the number of processed loan applications rose from just 10 in November to over 46,000 to date.

The startup says it has over 1,000 dealers on its network actively using the loan processing solution, and over 15,000 certified and financeable vehicles on the Autochek marketplace across its markets.

Autochek has partnerships with 70 banks across the continent such as Access Bank, Ecobank, UBA, Bank of Africa and NCBA Bank. The startup has also launched its truck financing platform and more recently financing of brand-new vehicles.

Autocheck generates revenues through fees charged on consumer transactions and commissions paid by dealers and service shops on the platform.

Pan-African Expansion

As part of Autochek’s growth strategy, the fresh funds will be used to improve its core auto loan processing platform and deepen its footprint across Africa, following its recent acquisition of Cheki Kenya and Uganda. Cheki is East Africa’s leading online auto marketplace.

One of the investors, Mobility 54 Investment SAS is the venture capital arm of Toyota Tsusho Corporation / CFAO Group. Autochek plans to leverage Toyota Tsusho’s vast retail network across 54 African countries to further deepen its expansion.

Speaking on the next phase of Autochek’s rapid growth following the round, Etop Ikpe, Founder and CEO of Autochek, mentioned his delight at the progress the company has made in such a short while and their commitment to the customer base.

“We are extremely delighted with the progress we’ve made in a short amount of time. With this funding and the support of our strategic investors, the entire team at Autochek is dedicated to delivering exceptional service for customers and partners, as well as deploying our technology across Africa.”

Etop Ikpe, Founder and CEO of Autochek