Nigeria’s Moove acquires Brazilian’s mobility provider Kovi, annual revenue now $275m

Nigerian mobility financing company, Moove has announced the acquisition of Kovi, a Brazilian urban mobility provider. The all-share transaction has now pushed the mobility fintech’s annual revenue to $275 million, a 139 per cent increase from the $115 million reported last March.

The development witnessed the merger of two companies that provide financing solutions for ride-share drivers. The acquisition, whose value remains undisclosed, is still pending approval from the Brazilian antitrust authority.

Founded in 2018, Y Combinator-backed Kovi launched to make vehicle ownership more accessible in Brazil. In the wake of the merger, Kovi will continue to operate under its brand while its executive and management teams will remain unchanged. 

With Moove keeping the Kovi brand operating in its existing markets, Brazil and Mexico, there are additional plans to expand further across Latin America. 

The Africa mobility fintech company recently launched operations in three cities across Colombia and Mexico. The acquisition further solidifies Moove’s position in Latin America, giving the company a major foothold in Brazil, the region’s largest ride-hail market.

Moove co-founder and co-CEO Ladi Delano expressed his delight in working with Kovi. He said the new team comprised a fantastic team of like-minded individuals who were created to address a similar problem identified in Nigeria. 

“Kovi is one of the top two players in Brazil. So we have not just entered or strengthened our presence in the Latin American market but also put ourselves in a top two position in the largest single market in Latin America through this acquisition,” he said. 

Delano pointed out that Moove’s acquisition of the São Paulo-based Kovi marks a significant step toward building the world’s largest ride-share fleet. With Latin America now emerging as a key market, Moove has now grown from 76 cars in Lagos, Nigeria to 36,000 cars operating in 19 cities across six continents.

Kovi’s acquisition comes two months after the African fintech announced a partnership with Waymo to provide driverless vehicle fleet operations in two U.S. cities, Phoenix and Miami. 

Founded in 2020, Uber-backed Moove offers vehicle financing to ride-hailing and delivery app drivers across six continents, with Latin America set to be included. 

Also Read: Uber drivers panic as Moove reportedly plans to increase N56,400 weekly remittance for Suzuki S-presso cars.

Kovi reaction on Moove’s merger

According to reports, Kovi’s financial status is unclear before the time of its acquisition. Meanwhile, its last funding round was a $104 million Series B in 2021 from investors like Valor Capital, Prosus Ventures, and Quona Capital. Kovi reported $45 million in annual revenue that year, growing 15 per cent month-over-month. 

The company primarily focuses on Brazil and Mexico and is well-positioned to expand across Latin America.

Kovi CEO, Adhemar Milani Neto, in a statement, expressed confidence in the deal with much confidence in the African mobility company’s founders. 

“I met the founders [Moove’s Delano and Jide Odunsi] many years back when they were scaling their business in Africa, and I was immediately impressed by their purpose-driven approach, which is also a perfect match to our culture. Together, I believe we will become a truly global category-defining business and will leverage scale and deep expertise never seen in our market,” he noted. 

However, Moove has built a third pillar in the global mobility marketplace by offering vehicle supply to ride-hailing platforms. This saw its taxi and employment model – Drive-to-Own product flagship, and an emerging autonomous vehicle (AV) business line involving AI-driven mobility. 

Considering the significance of AI in the AV business line, Delano said the company’s AI mobility strategy will span the entire business, from optimizing traditional ride-hailing services to improving fleet management.

He added that Kovi’s proprietary technology and algorithms will “complement and strengthen our existing AI mobility strategy and ensure that we can start to deliver an improved service and product to our customers around the world.”

On Moove’s recent growth, it raised a $100 million Uber-led Series B last year at a $750 million valuation. During that period, Uber also joined forces with Moove in India, supplying electric cars to Uber drivers in the country.

Since its launch in 2020, the mobility fintech has secured over $500 million in debt and equity from backers like Mubadala, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Janus Henderson, and the IFC (World Bank).

In a report by tech startup analytics company, CB Insights in its Q1 2024 State of Fintech Report, Moove was named among the top 10 financial technology companies that raised the most funding for that period.