The Brazilian startup Mottu announced it raised $40M in a Series B round and in debt financing.
The equity round was led by Base Partners and Crankstart, a family foundation created by Harriet Heyman and Michael Moritz, Partner at Sequoia Capital.
Tiger Global Management also participated in the round, its second investment in Mottu after leading its Series A round.
The debt portion of the financing was provided by Verde Asset, one of Brazil’s most relevant investment management firms.
Mottu is a motorcycle rental startup whose customers are independent couriers looking to work for delivery or logistics apps.
These customers are usually unemployed and have bad credit score ratings, making it very difficult for them to buy or lease a motorcycle in traditional dealer stores.
As Rubens Zanelatto, Mottu’s CEO explains: Mottu’s customers pay a weekly fee for the motorcycle rental.
The startup completely avoids delinquency because customers know that their motorcycle gets blocked if they fail to pay their fee.
The Brazilian startup started operating in 2020 with a 200-motorcycle fleet.
To this date, this number increased to 10,000. Mottu opened operations in eight Brazilian cities and in Mexico.
It also diversified its services, and it currently offers insurance, maintenance, credit, and even a driving school.
With the new funding, the startup is planning to reach a 50,000-motorcycle fleet by 2023 and hire over 50 senior engineers as well as a Chief Technology Officer.
Read more on Tech Gist Africa:
Brazilian startup Clicampo closes $7.7 Million
Brazilian fintech Zippi lands $16 million
Brazilian startup, Digibee Raises $25 million Series A Round