British-Nigerian entrepreneur Ladi Delano’s Moove partners with Uber to launch India ride-hailing fleet

Moove, the world’s first mobility fintech firm led by British-Nigerian tech entrepreneur Ladi Delano, has signed a partnership agreement with Uber to provide auto financing for drivers in India.

The move marks Moove’s first global expansion outside of Africa, with the startup expanding from its African roots to Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore, while continuing to offer accessible vehicle financing exclusively to Uber drivers.

According to a press release obtained by Billionaires.Africa, the strategic alliance, which represents a watershed moment for the two-year-old mobility fintech startup, represents one of Uber’s mega fleet partnerships in India.

According to the terms, Moove will launch 5,000 CNG and electric vehicles in the first year, with plans to scale to 30,000 vehicles over the next five years as part of the initiative to create long-term job opportunities in the rapidly developing Indian economy.

Delano, co-founder and co-CEO of Moove, commented on the deal, stating: “As our first global expansion outside of Africa, launching in India is a very special moment for the whole Moove team.”

“We’re excited to be expanding our revenue-based vehicle financing model to enable the sustainable creation of jobs across the country, where there are some of the lowest vehicle ownership rates in the world, in part because of the lack of access to credit,” he added. “We are delighted to be expanding our Uber partnership to solve this problem for our new customers in India.”

According to Abhilekh Kumar, director of business development in Uber India South Asia, Uber is excited to partner with Moove and to work together to unlock growth opportunities in India amid resurgent post-pandemic demand.

He went on to state that the partnership’s addition of new cars will help provide a better customer experience to riders, while also creating long-term earning opportunities for drivers on the Uber platform.

Since Delano and Jide Odunsi launched Moove in 2020, over 3 million rides have been provided in Moove-financed cars across Africa. It has debuted in six additional cities and connected thousands of ambitious mobility entrepreneurs to ride-hailing, e-logistics, and fast delivery marketplaces.

The company presently serves as Uber’s sole car finance and vehicle supply partner in Sub-Saharan Africa, with offices in Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, and Ibadan, and has grown by more than 50 percent month-on-month since its inception.

Moove raised $105 million from institutional investors earlier this year in an oversubscribed Series-A2 round, which included $65 million in equity and $40 million in debt financing. The capital injection increased its total investor funding to $174.5 million.