Nigerian-based mobility startup, Metro Africa Xpress Inc (MAX), has secured $31 million in its series B funding round.
The mobility tech startup, which was co-founded by Adetayo Bamiduro and Chinedu Azodoh, said the startup will use the funding to expand into Ghana and Egypt by the end of Q1 of 2022.
MAX is also planning to spread its services into East and Southern parts of Africa, as well as into francophone countries, by the end of 2022.
“It is another milestone in our journey to make mobility safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable by deploying high-performance technologies and operators. The investment will enable us 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,” co-founder and CEO, Adetayo Bamiduro, told TechCrunch.
The funds will also be used to extend vehicle financing credit to over 100,000 drivers in the next two years, as well as the deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.
The funding round was led by Lightrock, which is a global private equity platform, and UAE-based international venture capital firm, Global venture. This investment marks Lightrock’s foremost investment in the African mobility space.
The investment round also received participation from existing investors like Novastar Ventures, and Proparco, the French development finance institution, through their Digital Africa initiative.
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MAX was founded in 2015 by the duo of Adetayo Bamiduro and Chinedu Azodoh. The startup has been working on improving mobility in Africa by delivering integrated, affordable, and collateral-free vehicle subscription packages.
The startup also offer other services including low to zero-emission vehicles, healthcare, insurance, maintenance, and e-Hailing subscriptions.
In 2018, MAX introduced vehicle financing feature to help its drivers own their own vehicles with ease. In 2019 MAX began its electric mobility journey.
The startup currently provides two, three and four-wheeler EVs to drivers through various leasing and financing options.
MAX work with partners like Yamaha, a leading motorcycle manufacturer, to deliver its own line of electric motorcycles.
“We work with Yamaha in the area of access to vehicles for the drivers, and in the access to finance. As a testament of the success of our work and partnership, Yamaha today has set up a dedicated driver vehicle financing entity for Africa against the backdrop of the work that we’ve been doing with them over the past couple of years,” CFO Guy-Bertrand Njoya said.