Moove goes global, raising $105m in Series A2 funding round

Moove, one of the fastest-growing mobility fintech, has raised $105 million in a new Series A2 funding round, led by some of its previous investors, including Speedinvest, Left Lane Capital and the latest ventures, and new participants like AfricInvest, MUFG Innovation Partners, Latitude and Kreos Capital. 

In a statement to Technext, the company said that it will use the money to “rapidly scale its revenue-based vehicle financing model to seven new markets across Asia, MENA and Europe region over the next six months.”

This announcement comes just months after the startup, which launched 2020 in Lagos, closed its $23 million Series A round, and a month after closing $10 million in debt financing.

It has expanded its presence to six African cities including Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi and Ibadan, totalling its funding to $174.5 million in debt and equity. Already, it says that its customers have completed over 3 million rides covering more than 25 million kilometres.

Ladi Delano, the co-founder and co-CEO of the company said of Moove that “we’re now leading this growing category within fintech.”

“With this new fundraise, we are well-positioned and well funded to help solve this global problem. We’re delighted to have the support of leading investors across the globe who will be integral in enabling us to take our Nigerian-born model to the world.”

Ladi Delano

Jide Odunsi, co-founder and co-CEO of Moove noted that the company has been focused on “working hard to create disruptive and impactful tech solutions to solve real-world problems.” Odunsi added that the company is committed “to empowering women, leading the electrification of the mobility space and driving financial inclusion. These ideals are at the core of what we do as we continue to build a sustainable and impact-driven global business.”

“Moove has a commitment to ensuring that at least 50% of its customers are women, its product design enables more women to access vehicle financing and flexible employment,” the company adds in the press statement.

But it didn’t say how it was going to achieve this, especially with its partnership with Uber the ride-hailing company.

In July 2020, Moove entered into a partnership with Uber to make vehicles available for drivers, with the hope that they pay within a period of time. But, Uber has been accused of creating a hostile environment for women, which led to the company rolling out sexual misconduct and assault training for all new drivers in the US and Canada. The US, one of Uber’s biggest markets has only 27 per cent of its drivers as women.

Moove says it will help its customers which it called “mobility entrepreneurs” “purchase brand new vehicles using a percentage of their weekly revenue.” It didn’t say what percentage will be removed from their weekly earnings or for how long it will continue. Many drivers have complained about a huge percentage going to Uber.

Just last year, drivers complained about the terms and conditions of Moove’s deals with them, accusing the company of making them pay exorbitant sums for brand new vehicles. One of the drivers said that Moove will “supply us cars of N7.2 million to be paid in weekly instalments. Why will I buy a car for that much just for Uber business?”

A representative for Moove said at the time that “Moove is a revenue-based financing company enabling those who wish to drive on the Uber platform to get access to affordable credit. It is a one-stop shop for these customers to save them time and money, selling them new vehicles at market rates and aggregating services so that they can get on the road faster.”

Read also: ‘We are not forcing them to buy new cars’- Moove reacts to claims it is ripping off Uber drivers

Moove didn’t say what methods it will use if drivers stop using Uber.

It also says that it will use the next six months to “expand its partnerships and vehicle classes to include cars, trucks, bikes, three-wheelers, and buses.”

One of the investors, Julius Tichelaar, a partner at AfricInvest, said that AfricInvest is “delighted” with the path that the company is taking.

“Moove has the potential to transform the lives of millions of people across the continent and we’re delighted to be supporting them as they expand Moove in Africa and beyond into more emerging markets,” he said.