Mobility firm partners fintech on offer of payment services | The Guardian Nigeria News
A Nigerian mobility and Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure startup, Motor Africa, and OnePipe, a fintech, have launched a lending as a service (LaaS) proposition to help mobility entrepreneurs access working capital in the form of a overdraft to fund car repairs, buy genuine spare parts, vehicle and personal insurance, smartphones and cash for personal and family support.
The technology, which generates analytical telemetry and cash flow data, helps registered lenders make informed lending decisions while managing seamless credit repayments.
Motor Africa, a trading name of envio Logistics Inc., has activated more than 2,000 vehicles already on its platform and is now ready to enable those vehicle owners (who currently use the platform to lease their cars to verified drivers on e- postal services and local transport services) have access to credit services.
This service manages driver reimbursement to the vehicle owner and oversees car maintenance at partner workshops.
Co-founder and CEO of envio Logistics Inc, Sylvester Chude, who has been an active participant in the mobility industry, stated that partnering with OnePipe would facilitate automatic payment settlements to vehicle owners and lending partners.
According to Chude, “commercial transport is a critical service for the growth of any economy and the role of technology and innovation is critical to success in Africa.”
Commercial mobility in Africa is estimated to be a $150 billion market according to an AfDB article and was expected to grow by 8.5 percent between 2018 and 2023
OnePipe’s CEO and founder said partnering with Motor Africa will help address the challenges African mobility entrepreneurs face when trying to get working capital funding.
The platform is open to fleet operators who have previously leased cars to drivers who offer various mobility services.
In addition, Chude confirmed that the aim of Motor Africa is to facilitate the participation of financial institutions and individuals in financing the automotive supply gap to increase mobility in Africa.
The lending as a service infrastructure, which uses hybrid telemetry IOT systems, enables lending partners to create loan products with interest and repayment terms, as well as manage credit enquiries, automatic underwriting, cash disbursement and repayment collection.
The refund collection service enables credit subscribers to make refunds via bank transfer to a dedicated refund wallet before the due date, failing which the system will automatically disable the engine of the secured vehicle and share its geographic location with Motor Africa recovery agents in the event of a refund default.
The Motor Africa service is recommended for hosts leasing cars for e-mail services or last mile local transport services, drivers seeking cars for short-term leasing or hire purchase, and financial institutions offering self-service driving or lending.
Motor Africa now offers its services in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Benin and Portharcourt, and aims to announce additional locations in the second quarter of 2023.
