Nigeria is the BII’s biggest investment market in Africa, with a portfolio of nearly US $570 million, through more than 100 businesses and 43 funds, collectively supporting almost 45,000 jobs across the country in 2020, per Business Insider.
oove, the world’s first mobility fintech, has secured a $20mn financing from the UK government’s development finance institution, British International Investment (BII) (formerly known as CDC Group).
The new funding will play a crucial role in Moove’s continued expansion in Nigeria, enabling the platform to further scale its operations and significantly strengthen its product offerings for Nigeria-based customers.
Founded by serial entrepreneurs Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, Moove is democratising access to vehicle ownership by providing revenue-based vehicle financing and financial services to mobility entrepreneurs. The mobility fintech is creating sustainable employment opportunities to empower those otherwise excluded from financial services by embedding its alternative credit scoring technology onto ride-hailing, e-logistics and instant delivery platforms and using proprietary performance and revenue analytics to underwrite vehicle loans.
Since its launch in 2020, Moove has rapidly expanded its operations within Nigeria and has entered into new African markets, including Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, as well as Europe, Middle East and Asia markets.
The funding from BII will enable Moove to purchase and import brand new fuel-efficient cars into Lagos, which will be leased to drivers who can earn their way to asset ownership over three to four years. This will also alleviate one of the key blockages to the development of ‘ride-hailing’ transportation infrastructure in Nigeria’s commercial capital.
Ladi Delano, co-founder and co-CEO at Moove, said, “We’re incredibly proud to welcome onboard a world-class partner such as BII, whose strategic support will play a key role in our mission to build the world’s largest integrated vehicle financing platform for mobility entrepreneurs.
“With our new funding, we’re now in an even stronger position to use our technology and productivity data in creating a more inclusive financing ecosystem whilst also tackling the unemployment problem affecting over a third of Nigerians by generating the opportunity for more seamless and sustainable employment.”
British High Commissioner, H.E. Catriona Laing CB, noted that the investment reflects BII’s focus on mobilising capital to build self-sufficiency and market resilience in Nigeria and improve access to inclusive economic opportunities while helping to catalyse the country’s boundless entrepreneurial ambition.
According to him, BII forms an important part of the UK’s package of tools and expertise to help Nigeria build their pipeline for investment and scale up infrastructure investment, particularly to achieve clean, green growth.
Nigeria is the BII’s biggest investment market in Africa, with a portfolio of nearly US $570 million, through more than 100 businesses and 43 funds, collectively supporting almost 45,000 jobs across the country in 2020.
The DFI’s investments in Nigeria, both direct and indirect through various impact-led funds and intermediaries, cover a variety of sectors from clean infrastructure and energy to digital infrastructure, food and agriculture, financial services, manufacturing and logistics.
