The news:
- Moove, an African vehicle financing startup, has raised a debt funding of $10 million from Stride Ventures, a sector-agnostic venture debt fund.
- The mobility company, which entered India in 2023, states the new fund will help it strengthen its presence in the Indian market and expand operations to new cities, such as Delhi, Pune, and Kolkata.
- Moove says its operations in India are currently in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.
Per the mobility startup, most of its vehicles in India are registered with Uber, and the cars it financed have completed more than 30 million trips on the ride-sharing platform. It plans to increase the number of cars on its platform to over 5,000 to strengthen its presence in the country.
In 2023, Uber collaborated with Moove to deploy approximately 25,000 electric vehicles on its ride-sharing platform in India. Moove is now available in nine markets throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Binod Mishra, Moove's Regional Managing Director, spoke about the mobility company's impressive growth in India, stating that the startup has significantly impacted the country's mobility industry, with its vehicles having completed over 4.2 million trips.
“With the robust support of Stride Ventures, we stand on the cusp of transforming vehicle ownership nationwide, propelling our mission forward,” he added.
Launched in 2020 by Jide Odunsi and Ladi Delano, Moove offers vehicle financing for transportation business owners across ride-hailing, logistics, mass transit, and instant delivery platforms through alternative credit sourcing technology and productivity data.
Moove’s competitors in India include OTO Capital, Revfin, Turno, and Ascend Capital.
On Wednesday, February 13, Ascend Capital, a Jaipur-based electric vehicle (EV) financing firm, announced its plans to raise Rs 500 crore (~$60.2 million) over the next year and a half to finance more than 1 million electric commercial vehicles by 2030.
Also, OTO, the two-wheeler-focused financing firm, raised $10 million a few days ago in a funding round led by Japanese GMO Venture Partners.
