Metro Africa Express (MAX), a Nigerian mobility tech startup, has raised $31 million in a Series B funding round and is looking to enter more African markets as it continues to establish the transportation sector, TechCrunch reported.
The funding will go toward extending vehicle financing credit to more than 100,000 drivers in the next two years, according to the report. It will also help MAX expand into Ghana and Egypt by the first quarter of next year and into Francophone, East and Southern Africa by the end of 2022.
MAX Co-Founder and CEO Adetayo Bamiduro told TechCrunch the capital infusion would help the company continue “to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of drivers across the continent, accelerate international expansion and continue our pioneering initiatives in the mobility space.”
The company got its start as a delivery startup in 2015 and used motorcycles to complete orders, the report stated. It evolved into a ride-hailing service as well as vehicle subscription and financing services later.
That, according to Chief Financial Officer Guy-Bertrand Njoya, came from realizing most of the startup’s drivers “don’t own the vehicles they use,” per the report.
“It became clear that the fundamental issue that drivers face is consistent access to vehicles,” he said in the report. “And that is when we realized that if we are to be successful at solving the challenge of mobility across the continent, we have to first address the issue of vehicle access.”
Eventually, MAX wants to build electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure as it expands and roll out EVs to its users, according to the report.
In other vehicle-related news from Africa, Autochek Africa has debuted a new cars section on its website and mobile app, which will let customers access various digital financing options to buy cars.
Read more: Car Loans Marketplace Advances Automotive Commerce Across Africa
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