Autochek Financial Services, a new division of the Nigerian startup company that offers a variety of vehicle financing options to individuals and businesses all over the continent, has been launched. Autochek is an auto-tech platform that makes car ownership more accessible and affordable throughout Africa.
In order to improve and enable a seamless and secure automotive commerce experience throughout Africa, Autochek intends to develop digital solutions. By developing a single platform for customers’ automotive needs, from sourcing and financing to after-sale support and warranties, the company employs technology to change the automobile purchasing and selling experience for African consumers.
A key component of the startup’s rapid expansion strategy has been acquisitions. After purchasing the automobile marketplaces Cheki Nigeria and Cheki Ghana from ROAM Africa, Autochek debuted in September 2020. It has also extended to Kenya and Uganda in addition to Ghana, with the latter two launches once more being made possible by the purchase of Cheki properties.
In order to advance its operations into the North Africa region, it purchased Moroccan competitor KIFAL Auto in May. The business also acquired CoinAfrique in July, expanding into the Ivory Coast, Senegal, and other French-speaking nations after raising US$13.1 million in early capital last year for West African expansion.
It is currently expanding the services available on its platform. The Marketplace platform, which collaborates with automakers and other service providers to make it simpler for customers and companies to finance their automobiles, will continue to be supported by Autochek Financial Services. Additionally, it will offer top-tier technology and advisory solutions to auto dealers, financial institutions, and other participants in the African automotive ecosystem, assisting them in enhancing customer experiences and improving credit decisioning, collections, pricing, portfolio management, and product development.
Since its debut, Autocheck has processed more than 80,000 vehicle loan applications by collaborating with more than 70 financial institutions and 2,000 dealerships. The company, which originates vehicle loans using data analytics to make it simpler for financial institutions to extend credit to customers, takes advantage of the broad reach of its online marketplace. The company is now well-positioned to further up its efforts to enhance the speed, structure, and cost of auto-financing on the continent with the introduction of Autochek Financial Services.
Johan van der Merwe, a seasoned financial services professional with more than 20 years of experience in risk, credit, and asset finance, will be in charge of Autochek Financial Services, which will have its main office in Johannesburg, South Africa. Johan previously held the position of chief risk officer at SA Taxi, a vertically integrated company that provides financing, insurance, and other services for the South African minibus taxi industry, before joining Autochek Financial Services as CEO. WesBank Motor is one of the top providers of vehicle and asset financing in South Africa.
“Johan brings to Autochek Financial Services a plethora of experience, and we are thrilled to have him on board as we develop the framework to modernize the automobile industry in Africa. Etop Ikpe, Group CEO and co-founder of Autochek, stated, “We want to empower more Africans with seamless access to vehicle financing and we are looking forward to delivering more solutions to bridge the affordability gap and make it easy for more Africans to purchase the vehicles they want.
By releasing money, van der Merwe claimed he saw a significant chance to create shared benefit for customers, businesses, financial institutions, and other stakeholders.
“I am confident that we can create the necessary infrastructure. I am looking forward to working with Etop and the team to deliver more success and more growth across the continent’s automotive sector, he said. “Etop and the team have done a lot of outstanding work to deliver the success Autochek has witnessed to date,” he said.
Source: disrupt-africa.com
