Gozem Nets is 30 million dollars to expand vehicle financing and digital banking services in Africa

Since its launch in 2018 as a horseback service in Togo, Small sediment It has expanded steadily across French -speaking West Africa, and merged a wide range of services as it sought to become a super application. The company now provides horseback, trade, vehicle financing, and digital banking services via Togo, Benin, Gabon and Cameroon.

Now, in an attempt to expand its ecosystem, Gozem raised $ 30 million in a series of financing B – $ 15 million in stocks and $ 15 million of debt – led by SAS Service Services and Al Mada Ventures. The company will use money to support vehicle financing service and transport in new markets.

According to the startup founders Gregory Kosamagna and Rafael DanaGozem distinguishes itself from other vehicle financing platforms for riding by ensuring that their drivers are financially safe and can access job growth opportunities.

GOZEM is covered by motorcycle rides, offers and cars, while the vehicle financing product aims to help its drivers buy its cars. It also allows workers on its platform to make food delivery and groceries as part of e -commerce.

“Our main customer is a professional driver,” Costamagna told Techcrunch. “We are building an environmental system to help drivers earn more money and development in their lives. If it succeeds, our entire work is successful.”

when We covered the GZEM series of $ 5 million in 2021It has just tried its auto financing model, partnership with local banks and deployed more than 1500 cars that year. Since then, the company has cooperated with international lenders and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and now funding about 7,000 cars.

To attract drivers to its platform, the company purchases vehicles using a mixture of debt and fairness, and drivers can pay the price of these vehicles in installments. Instead of requesting the premature deposits, Gozem compensation for costs through small discounts of daily profits for drivers. Backed Microfand You are and Upper It also offers vehicle financing products to drivers in different markets.

Gozem said her program ensures that payments remain reasonable for the average driver’s profits.

“We explain to all our drivers that this is a long -term trip,” said Costamagna. “We finance their motorcycle, (but then they can upgrade to (three wheels), then a car, eventually became full vehicle owners.”

The founders said a large part of the debt collected is scheduled to be funded by the Gozem vertical vehicle. The company is also raising another $ 20 million in the coming months to support its expansion throughout the Francophone Africa over the next two years.

The super application play

Many Fintech and Mobility tried to integrate various services under the Super app, but the model has not always succeeded. In sub -Saharan Africa, for example, payment applications that have tried to develop into super applications, such as supported Softbank OpayI have seen a little success.

However, Gozem see traction thanks to a connection -like approach in Southeast Asia and Gojek. Some of its competitors, such as Yasser supported Bond and Mnt-HALANI also explored similar models in Africa across the Maghreb region and Egypt for some success.

Currently, the company includes approximately 10,000 registered drivers, and more than a million users have used its platform so far. It says that the number of its monthly users is hundreds of thousands.

In addition to its basic services, Gozem has seen some growth in digital tickets, which are part of the Trade Department. The company re -sells events tickets across its markets, and says it has treated more than 50,000 tickets in Togo alone for concerts and major events.

The company is also escalating in Gozem Money Monox acquisition In 2023, the service, which is currently living in Togo, allows users to make mobile phone payments, and according to the company, it treats millions of dollars per day.

Before this last series B, Gozem recorded the total value of the operating rate of $ 50 million across the threes of the product. Dana said that the company expects three times or a quad -growth in 2025 with the new capital.

He pointed out that the financing round of the series B leads to the health of the Gozem model, given a mixture of investors of industrial and financial services who join its maximum schedule. Sas Sipping Services Services Services Services MSC, one of the largest container operators in Africa, while Al Mada Ventures is the arm of the Pan-AFRICAN Financial Services Consta project.

“It is validation because we have investors working on the ground in the same markets in which we work,” said Dana.