Nigerian fintech mobility startup Moove is raising USD 30 mn from a sukuk issuance to boost its expansion in the UAE with some 2k ride-hailing EVs in the coming year, according to a company statement. The issuance was arranged by US-based investment firm Franklin Templeton Investments and comes less than two months after Moove closed a GBP 15 mn fundraising round to expand operations in the UK.

SOUND SMART- Sukuk are a sharia-compliant bond-like financial instrument based on an underlying asset, which generates a return or “income rate” for an investor. Moove is issuing “istisna” sukuk, which are typically used for manufacturers. You can dive deeper with this nifty explainer from EnterpriseAM.

Who is Moove? The company is the world’s first mobility fintech which acts as a vehicle financing platform for mobility entrepreneurs, according to its website. Launched in 2020, the Nigerian startup is now Uber’s largest vehicle supply partner in EMEA and provides royalty-based financing to drivers of ride-hailing and delivery firms. The company provides loans to purchase or rent vehicles and enrolls drivers on Uber’s platform, subtracting rental fees on a weekly basis from their paychecks. Moove also works with Egypt-born mass transit app Swvl and Kenyan trucking and logistics startup Sendy.

A fast expansion with big EV plans: Initially launched to address a lack of access to vehicle financing in Lagos, Moove has scaled to 13 markets across nine countries — including Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and India — in 2022 with a commitment to ensure at least 60% of the cars it financed are EVs. The planned 2k EV fleet in the UAE will offset some 5k tons of CO2 emissions, helping Dubai realize its net zero emissions target by 2050, the statement notes.

And there’s more: The startup also plans to launch an EV charging platform — the Moove Charge app — as part of its UAE expansion, allowing users to find the locations and availability of charging stations compatible with their EVs on an app.