Africa mobility fintech company Moove has launched operations in Nairobi, Kenya, its first city in East Africa and sixth on the continent. 

To expand the company’s vehicle and product offerings to customers, the company has partnered with Uber to allow ride-hailing and delivery drivers to purchase motorcycles for Uber Connect, UberEats deliveries and UberBoda (motorcycle taxi) trips. 

In addition, following its recent partnership with pan-African e-logistics platform Lori Systems, Moove has expanded its logistics offering with Kenyan fulfilment and last-mile logistics company Sendy. 

“Entering the East African market allows Moove to drive closer to its goal of democratising vehicle ownership by providing revenue-based vehicle financing across Africa,” explains the company in a statement.

“With Kenya's lending costs almost twice that of South Africa's and the average loan deposit standing at between 10% and 30%, affordability is still an issue for entrepreneurs who lack a credit history ­– a typical financing hurdle on the continent. 

“Moove will use this market opportunity to enable drivers to leverage its alternative credit-scoring technology and gain access to brand-new vehicles, which creates more good job opportunities within the mobility industry.”

“Kenya already has a thriving mobility and entrepreneurial industry for us to tap into and roll out our financing solutions, so we’re very excited to be launching into Nairobi, our sixth market in 18 months,” notes Moove co-founder and CEO Ladi Delano.

“As one of the biggest economies across Africa, our move into Kenya serves as a gateway to other East African markets. We are excited to continue our expansion, having achieved over 50%-plus month-on-month growth since our launch.

“Moove recently received the IFC Corporate Award as one of the top 20 most impactful and transformational companies in their portfolio as it is applying an innovative and scalable solution towards solving a continent-wide problem,” adds Delano.

“This further validates that our model is really working in getting customers to the virtuous path of vehicle ownership. And, by doing so, we are creating employment and income opportunities for these mobility entrepreneurs.”  

On the back of the recent launch of its first two-wheeler bike product, Moove Xpress, in Lagos, Nigeria, Moove is also expanding this new-vehicle class to East Africa. 

As a result of the partnership with Uber, drivers in Nairobi will have access to Moove Xpress bikes for UberConnect (peer-to-peer delivery), UberBoda trips and UberEats food deliveries. 

Currently estimated at $80-billion, the two-wheeler hailing market in sub-Saharan Africa is plagued by a lack of access to new vehicles, as well as a lack of regulation of both drivers and riders. 

In addition, Moove has also signed a new partnership with Sendy, an end-to-end logistics, retail and freight company. 

The Sendy partnership expands Moove’s logistics vehicle offering following its recent partnership with Lori Systems to fuel the growth of Africa’s trucking and logistics industry. 

Financing for Africa trucking stands at less than 1%, reports Moove.

Co-founded in 2019 by Delano and Jide Odunsi, Moove provides asset-backed vehicle financing by embedding its alternative credit-scoring technology onto ride-hailing and e-logistics platforms. 

Moove offers loans to customers by selling them new vehicles and financing up to 95% of the purchase price within five days of signing up. 

Customers can choose to repay their loans over 12, 36, 48 or 60 months, paying a percentage of their weekly income through the Moove app, which manages all transactions and provides access to other financial products on the platform. 

To date, Moove-financed cars have completed more than 1.6-million trips with over 20-million kilometres travelled across its markets.