African startup Moove has launched a 100% electric vehicle rent-to-buy business providing drivers with access to brand new, zero-emissions vehicles for a flat weekly fee.
The company is offering these vehicles as a partner on Uber’s platform in London with plans to scale to up to 10,000 vehicles by the end of 2025, which it says will create sustainable earnings opportunities and contributing to the city’s net zero carbon emissions goals.
London is the global leader for Uber’s electrification efforts with over 6,000 EVs on the platform – the most of any Uber city. Moove says its London launch will enable Uber to progress towards its goal of becoming an all-electric platform in the capital by 2025.
Founded by British-born Nigerian entrepreneurs Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, Moove launched in Lagos, Nigeria in 2020 to democratise access to vehicle ownership there. Having now scaled to nine markets across sub-Saharan Africa and India, Moove says it is now leading the charge in the “mobility fintech sector”, aiming to solve the challenge of limited access to vehicle financing for millions of gig workers across ride-hailing, logistics, and instant delivery sectors, of which there are around 4.5 million in the UK alone.
Moove’s alternative credit scoring technology provides access to vehicle financing to gig worker customers who may have previously been excluded from financial services. Over the past two years, Moove has enabled sustainable job creation and a path to asset ownership with its customers having completed more than million trips in Moove-financed vehicles.
In London, Moove says its approach to vehicle financing is designed to empower its customers with access to brand new, zero-emission vehicles with an easy sign-up process as well as no credit checks, upfront costs, or deposit needed. Other services include regular maintenance, MOT, vehicle insurance, health insurance and a dedicated customer success team, a product offering not matched by any other company partnered with Uber’s Clean Air Plan.
In addition, Moove customers driving with Uber can reduce their weekly payments by using funds raised through Uber’s Clean Air Plan to help them meet the cost of switching to an EV. Uber’s Clean Air Plan has raised over £145 million, equating to approximately £3,000 per driver. Moove estimates that the 10,000 EVs it plans to finance by 2025 in London will contribute a reduction of around 63,000 megatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
Ladi Delano, co-founder and co-CEO at Moove, said: “We are proud to have built a business in Africa to now be able to scale our model here in Europe, which is something that no other African fintech company has done before. This also marks a milestone of firsts for us; as we are excited to be launching with our first 100% EV fleet. We are thrilled to be expanding our partnership with Uber to drive our commitments towards the electrification of mobility.”
Andrew Brem, general manager at Uber UK, said: “Our aim at Uber is to become a 100% electric platform in London by 2025 and we understand that drivers need access to financing if they want to make the transition to an electric vehicle. Moove’s model will help more Uber drivers switch to pure electric faster, to reduce their running costs and help clean up London’s air. With demand from riders higher than ever, our partnership with Moove will benefit drivers and riders alike.”
(Picture – Moove)
