Supporting EVs from Lagos to London with Moove co-CEO Ladi Delano

"Moove and Uber have been partners since 2020," says Ladi Delano, co-founder and co-CEO of Nigeria-based mobility fintech Moove.

"The lack of access to vehicle financing is a problem faced by mobility gig economy workers and ride-hailing drivers across the world."

However, while the cooperation between Uber and Moove's started in Moove's native Nigeria, the partnership has recently expanded to Europe – starting with London. 

"In London, there is a particular demand for electric vehicles," continues Delano.

"London is Uber’s biggest market for electric vehicles with over 6,000 EVs on the platform and it aims to have a 100% electric platform by 2025 in the capital."

So how is Moove going to support London's mobility gig workers make the switch to electric cars?

London's Electric Ubers

With Uber aiming to operate an entirely electrified fleet in Britain's capital by the middle of the decade and the British government banning the sale of internal combustion engine cars by 2030, mobility gig workers will need to find a new set of wheels soon.

"Our innovative rent-to-buy model enables customers to access a brand new electric vehicle without the need for a deposit, any upfront costs or credit checks," says Delano.

"For ride-hailing drivers that stopped working during the pandemic and may have sold their cars, our launch in London will make owning an EV more accessible Moove customers pay a weekly fee which includes value-added services such as regular maintenance, MOT, vehicle insurance, and health insurance."

Moove's rent-to-buy model started in Africa where, as Delano told us last year, a "significant" portion of ride-hailing drivers rely on micro-rental schemes. In fact, some four-fifths of drivers in Africa do not own the car that they drive and many are more than 10 years old.

This model proved successful, with Moove attracting $105 million in Series A2 earlier this year. Now, the company is looking to expand further.

"We’re leveraging our integrated model to offer an all-in-one solution for London customers to make it more affordable for London customers to easily transition to EVs and contribute to the city’s net zero goals," explains Delano.

"One of our goals as a company is to ensure that at least 60% of the vehicles we finance are hybrid or EVs. In countries like the UK, there is high demand for EVs thanks to Uber’s target to have a 100% electric platform by 2025, yet we’re still at the point where EVs can be more expensive than combustion vehicles. That’s why we’re focusing on making EVs more affordable to ride-hailing drivers - we’re aiming to be the largest EV partner on Uber’s platform in London with plans to scale to up to 10,000 vehicles over the next three years. 

"Moove customers can use the money they’ve raised through the Clean Air Plan (around £3,000 per driver) to reduce their weekly payments. This is part of our mission to reduce carbon emissions and make cities like London a healthier place to live."

Charging and Mooveing

Beyond offering improved access to EVs, Moove also offers its Moove Charge app which can help mobility gig economy drivers easily keep their cars charged.

"Our Moove Charge app is the first of its kind app, designed specifically for ride-hailing drivers, to make it easier to find, locate and pay for charging across London," says Delano.

"This helps simplify the driving experience for our customers and makes it easy for new and existing drivers to get on the road. Owning an electric vehicle requires a behavioural change because charging requires forward planning to locate charge points and time to charge the car, unlike filling up at a petrol station. 

"The Moove Charge app is a seamless all-in-one solution that aggregates charge points from 15 charge-point network providers. It has been designed and built specifically for ride-hailing drivers to make it easier for them to find, locate and pay for charging with access to the largest network of slow, fast, and ultrafast EV charge points across London."

Delano says that Uber has recruited a further 10,000 drivers in London to help meet increased demand following the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of these drivers will likely be unfamiliar with electric cars, making the Moove Charge app essential to keeping them on the road. 

"The app also comes with an RFID card to help customers start their EV charging. According to our research, our customers prefer one app to find, charge and pay and an RFID card to start their charging process," says Delano.

"As Moove works with network partners to aggregate charge points, the app provides a cost saving of approximately 12% of average annual EV charging costs. Additional functionalities include the ability to search for charge points by vehicle compatibility, speed and availability and a dynamic spending cap feature, which helps Moove customers to better control their costs and cash flow."

From Pan-African to Pan-European

"Currently, there are 1.1 billion gig workers globally, of which half are denied access to financial services according to Forces Fintech Futures. We believe there are 100 million gig workers in the mobility sector and this is only growing," says Delano.

As a result of that growing workforce – regardless of whether it points to an increasingly precarious and unstable world of work – companies such as Moove will become essential to supporting them.

"Globally, the ride-hailing market is expected to grow annually by 8.8% over the next three years and it's even higher for trucking logistics (9.1% annually) and last-mile delivery (9.2% annually) - all areas that we support," says Delano.

That global outlook is an essential part of Moove's DNA. Starting in Nigeria before expanding around Africa before moving to Europe, the company is growing in lock-step with the market it serves. 

"Africa has an ecosystem of young, intelligent entrepreneurs and the continent is home to an abundance of opportunities that innovation and technology can solve," says Delano.

"Good ideas can come from anywhere and we would love to see more African companies developing solutions that can be used to solve real-world problems in Europe and other developed markets.

"We work with many different mobility marketplaces across the world including ride-hailing, trucking & logistics, mass transit and instant delivery. We’re excited to partner with marketplaces that share our mission to make vehicle finance more accessible. Our vision is to build the largest integrated financial platform for mobility entrepreneurs globally and we’re excited to grow and expand over the next few years."