Gozem, a francophone Africa super app, has closed a $5 million Series A round from investors including AAIC, Thunes (TransferTo), Momentum Ventures, Innoport Ventures, CMC Ventures and Liil Ventures. The startup has now raised a total of $12 million to date.
The company will use the Series A financing to expand into more Francophone African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal, and Ivory Coast. The company is also looking to improve its asset financing model while fully launching its financial services.
Founded in 2017 by Gregory Costamagna, Raphael Dana and Emeka Ajene, Gozem started life out as a motorcycle-taxi ride-hailing service. Three years on, it has grown to become a francophone Africa super app offering a portfolio of services that includes transport of passengers and goods, e-commerce and food delivery, financing, and soon digital banking. It is present in Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Mali, and Senegal.
“We are excited and delighted to have attracted global investors that share our common vision of building digital ecosystems. This latest round of financing will be instrumental in helping Gozem develop more services in its Super App and expand geographically,” said Gozem Co-Founder Raphael Dana.
In addition to geographical expansion, Gozem will continue to deepen its vertical offerings, especially in fintech with its lending and digital banking solutions that will help the firm fulfil its goal of empowering local communities.
“In the first 8 months of operations of our vehicle leasing program, Gozem has been able to lease close to 1,500 vehicles to drivers. This round of investment will help us accelerate this effort of providing easy and affordable financing solutions to drivers and lease more than 200,000 vehicles in the next 3 years,” said Gozem Co-Founder Gregory Costamagna..
“The TransferTo group is excited to participate in the Gozem adventure, to support its needs and bring them its expertise and knowledge of African markets. Gozem’s Super App will soon provide various mobility and digital payment services to millions of users which will help position them as a leader in Francophone Africa,” said Allan Green, Chairman of TransferTo.
“We’re excited to see so many mobility players joining us in this round to help Gozem deploy more mobility features and explore various mass transit opportunities,” said Nadim Matuk, Investment Principal at Liil Ventures.
