Nigerian Startup Moove Hits $2.1B Helping Drivers Own Cars

A mobility company born in Lagos five years ago just became one of Africa's most valuable tech startups by solving a problem millions of drivers face every day: getting a car loan when banks say no.

Moove raised $250 million in new funding, bringing its total valuation to $2.1 billion. The company helps ride-share and delivery drivers buy vehicles through a smarter lending system that looks at their actual driving performance instead of traditional credit scores that often exclude them.

Since launching in 2020, founders Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi have helped 42,000 drivers across 13 countries get behind the wheel of their own vehicles. The company now operates in 29 cities and employs 3,300 people, generating $420 million in annual revenue.

The secret sauce is technology embedded directly into ride-hailing apps. Instead of requiring perfect credit history, Moove analyzes how drivers perform on the platforms, using that data to offer fair, revenue-based financing to people traditional banks won't touch.

The new funding came from major investors including Mubadala Investment Company, Toyota's growth fund Woven Capital, and Ion Pacific. This brings Moove's total raised capital to over $710 million.

But the company isn't stopping at helping human drivers. Moove has partnered with Waymo to manage autonomous vehicle fleets in Phoenix and Miami, with London coming soon. The company plans to grow its autonomous mobility team from 150 to 500 employees by year's end.

"Mobility demand is abundant, but supply cannot scale unless capital, technology and operations move together," said Delano. The company is building the charging stations, maintenance facilities, and data systems that self-driving cars will need to operate 24/7 in cities worldwide.

The Ripple Effect

What started as a way to help Lagos drivers afford vehicles has evolved into infrastructure for the future of transportation. Moove proves that solutions built for excluded communities can scale into global platforms. By trusting drivers that banks wouldn't, the company created both economic opportunity and the foundation for tomorrow's autonomous mobility.

The journey from a simple insight in Lagos to a $2.1 billion global platform shows how solving real problems for real people builds lasting value.