Metro Africa Xpress (MAX), a Nigerian mobility tech startup, has raised a $31 million Series B funding to expand across Africa as it races towards formalising the continent’s transportation sector.
The funding round was led by Lightrock, which is making its first investment in the African mobility space alongside Global Ventures as well as existing investors Novastar Ventures, and Proparco, the French development finance institution, through their Digital Africa initiative.
MAX will use the investment to expand into Ghana and Egypt by the end of the first quarter of 2022, and other markets in Francophone, East, and Southern Africa by the close of the same year. The funds will also be used to extend vehicle financing credit to over 100,000 drivers in the next two years.
Founded in 2015 by Adetayo Bamiduro and Chinedu Azodoh, MAX addresses the last-mile delivery and online retail problems by using mobile and web platforms to connect consumers, retail businesses, and independent drivers in real-time.
The startup started out as a delivery startup using motorcycles to fulfill customer orders before venturing into ride-hailing, and later into vehicle subscription and financing services – solutions. The latter came up based on the data from its first services.
As part of its catalogue of services, MAX plans to build electric vehicle infrastructure in its new markets, with the intention of introducing EVs to its emerging clientele.
“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,” said MAX co-founder and CEO Adetayo Bamiduro.
In producing electric vehicles, MAX’s CFO, Guy-Bertrand Njoya said they work with partners across the ecosystem, including Yamaha, a leading motorcycle manufacturer, to deliver their EVs.
“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,” said Njoya.
Ravi Sharma, Partner at Lightrock, said: “With rapid urbanization fuelling the African mobility market growth, MAX is effectively and sustainably matching supply and demand for affordable, safe and reliable transportation to the benefit of passengers, drivers and the environment, pioneering electric vehicles in Africa. We are enthusiastic about backing MAX and their highly capable management team in further scaling the transformation of African mobility.”
Noor Sweid, a General Partner at Global Ventures, said: “With Max, we were drawn to both the team and the product. The company was founded by a stellar and experienced team with a deep and thorough understanding of the market, who have successfully built a comprehensive tech-driven platform that is truly driver-centric, offering a one-stop solution with embedded fintech, insurtech and govtech services. We are thrilled to welcome them to the portfolio as our first investment in the African mobility space.”
