Autochek, an African automotive technology company that facilitates auto financing, has raised $13.1 million in early capital. The round was co-led by follow-on investors TLcom Capital and 4DX Ventures, and included previous investors Golden Palm Investments, Enza Capital, Lateral Capital, as well as new investors ASK Capital and Mobility 54 Investment SAS.
Autochek was launched in October 2020 and is currently active in five countries spanning East and West Africa: Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Cote d’Ivoire. It integrates technology with data analytics to improve car finance penetration across the continent. Autochek has built in-house digital solutions such as Collateral Management, Dealer Management Systems, and a proprietary CRM system to manage stakeholder operations within the ecosystem such as vehicle financing, inspection, valuation, and inventory management, all of which are powered by its residual value algorithm. The platform has gained rapid traction across its business since its pre-seed fundraising in November 2020, most notably in the field of auto-financing, where the number of processed loan applications has risen from from 10 in November to over 46,000 to date.
Autochek now has partnerships with 70 banks across Africa, including regional leaders like Access Bank, Ecobank, UBA, Bank of Africa, and NCBA Bank. Since the beginning of the year, the firm has reached a number of significant milestones, including over 1000 dealers on the Autochek network actively using the loan processing system and over 15,000 certified and financeable vehicles on the Autochek marketplace across its regions. Autochek also introduced its truck lending platform and, more recently, brand new car financing during the year.
“At Autochek, our driving force is to increase financing penetration on the continent; we have been amazed by the market adoption rate and the support from our banking partners in the countries we operate in,” Etop Ikpe, Founder and CEO of Autochek, said of the next phase of the company’s rapid growth following its fundraise. We entered this field with the knowledge that we would be addressing one of Africa’s most significant challenges: the lack of a simple, digital-first funding method. We were able to create an effect in the automobile industry by combining our experience and networks.
“We’re ecstatic with how far we’ve come in such a short period of time.” The entire team at Autochek is focused on providing great service to customers and partners, as well as deploying our technology across Africa, with this money and the support of our strategic investors.”
The funds will be used to strengthen Autochek’s core vehicle loan processing technology and expand its footprint in West Africa, beginning with its recent entry into Cote d’Ivoire, as part of the company’s growth strategy. In addition, with its recent acquisition of Cheki Kenya and Cheki Uganda, East Africa’s top online vehicle marketplaces, the company is rapidly growing its footprint across East Africa. Autochek will use Toyota Tsusho’s huge retail network throughout 46 African countries as part of Mobility54’s funding to enhance its expansion.
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