Togolese startup, Gozem, has completed the acquisition of Moneex for an undisclosed amount.
Raphael Dana and Emeka Ajene founded Gozem in 2018 to digitise transportation in West and Central Africa. Launching in Lome, the capital of Togo, the startup soon expanded to Benin off the back of a $900k seed investment.
It grew quickly too, signing up 8,000 customers and completing 1,500 rides in the first month. It now has 160,000 customers in four countries — Togo, Gabon, Cameroon, and Gabo — and provides motorcycle, tricycle, and car rides.
Gozem positioned itself as a super app from its early days, hoping to replicate the success of Asian startups such as Grab and Gojek. Consequently, its acquisition of Moneex will enable it to add financial services following its acquisition of Delivroum in 2022.
“Expanding our financial services through the Gozem Money solution represents the next frontier in our ongoing commitment to delivering essential digital services to our users across Africa. With the addition of the Moneex Team to our ranks, we are poised to accelerate the introduction of our innovative fintech offerings to the market,” Martial Konvi, Global Head of Product at Gozem, said in a statement.
While the value of the deal is undisclosed, Moneex’s founders will join Gozem and receive equity in the company.
“We are thrilled to be joining Gozem, a company that shares our vision for a more inclusive and innovative financial future in Africa. Our fintech expertise and Gozem's reach and resources will allow us to accelerate our mission of making better financial services accessible to everyone,” Florent Ogoutchoro, Co-Founder and CEO of Moneex, said.
In addition to adding mobile money services, Gozem is adding credit, having already secured $10 million from the International Finance Corporation to finance 6,000 cars.
While super apps were once popular in Africa, many players like Gokada and Safeboda have toned down their ambitions. OPay stopped its super app plans to focus on a fintech vertical that has seen huge success. However, Union54 recently announced it would be launching a super app, ChitChat, in partnership with Mastercard.
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