Moove, the vehicle-financing company founded in Lagos in 2020, has announced that it is ending its Nigerian operations and handing ownership of eligible vehicles, which it values at about ₦35 billion, to the drivers who currently operate them. The company says the cars pass to customers free of charge, with no further payment to Moove for the vehicles themselves from October 1, 2026, a date that falls a week before the October 8 announcement. Staff will also get a free car each. Moove calls the move a “Thank You Nigeria” initiative. Co-founder and co-CEO Ladi Delano said Nigeria “is where Moove began” and that the notice was “only a thank you note” to customers and staff. The company says more than 9,000 customers have used its Drive-to-Own and rental products in Nigeria, generating about ₦57 billion in revenue through Moove-financed vehicles. The ₦35 billion figure is Moove’s own estimate, and WeeTracker converts it to roughly $22 million.
The gift comes with conditions that the headline figure leaves out. In a BusinessDay interview, Delano said remaining scheduled payments from October 1 are waived, but that remittances accrued before October 1 must still be settled and ownership-transfer paperwork must be completed. Moove has not said who counts as an “eligible” customer, how many vehicles are covered, how the ₦35 billion was calculated, or what happens to drivers who are not eligible. It has also not said how vehicle titles, liens, insurance or tracking devices will be handled, and its wording covers “no payment for the vehicles themselves,” which leaves open whether other costs, such as registration or insurance, remain with drivers. Drivers with arrears should ask for their balance in writing before relying on the offer, and those with questions should contact Moove directly. The company says it will work directly with affected customers and employees to complete the transfers.
The shift in tone is striking. On September 11, Moove told drivers that Uber’s exit did not suspend or reduce their contracts, rejected a request to cut the daily remittance from ₦18,700 to ₦12,000, and warned that contract termination would not cancel any debt. Drivers on four-year contracts for Suzuki Xpresso hatchbacks said Uber’s departure had cut their rides and income. Less than a month later, the company is waiving the remaining payments. An October 5 report said a union of app-based drivers has also called an indefinite shutdown of the Bolt and inDrive apps from October 12, and had asked Moove and the financier LagRide for temporary remittance relief. This newsroom did not find Moove’s response to that request.
Why leave? The company’s public announcement gives no reason. Delano told BusinessDay that Uber’s departure “materially changed the operating environment in Nigeria” and that Moove concluded it could not sustain its Nigerian operating model. Uber ended its Nigerian and Ugandan operations on September 2, saying it was reviewing its business priorities and investment focus in Africa. Moove had financed vehicles for Uber drivers, with repayments linked to a share of weekly earnings, a model the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has described, and the loss of that platform data made lending harder to underwrite. Moove told drivers they could work on Bolt and inDrive, but that does not replace the underwriting data. WeeTracker adds that Moove borrowed in dollars while drivers earned naira and that it faced a repayment crisis in 2023. Those are the outlet’s analysis and not Moove’s stated reasons, so they should be read as context.
The exit comes at a moment of strength elsewhere. On July 31, Moove announced a $250 million Series C at a $2.1 billion valuation, led by Mubadala Investment Company with Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth fund, and Ion Pacific as co-leads. The money is meant to expand its autonomous-vehicle business, including owning AV fleets, building robotics depots it calls “Nests,” and launching new markets. It says it operates about 42,000 vehicles in 29 cities across 13 countries, with about $420 million in annual recurring revenue and a partnership with Waymo in Phoenix and Miami, with London planned. The release does not name Nigeria. Moove says it will keep growing internationally, and Delano closed with “wherever Moove goes next, our story will always start in Lagos.”
Several things remain unanswered. The number of Nigerian drivers and vehicles affected is not published. The company has not said how many staff lose their jobs, what happens to loans already in default, or how its lenders, including the IFC and British International Investment, which backed earlier Nigerian financing, are treated. For drivers, the gift may be real value, a car owned outright, but only if the paperwork is clean and the arrears are settled. For the sector, the lesson is that a lending model built on one platform’s data can fail when that platform leaves, and that a company with new global capital chose to end its home-market business rather than rebuild it.
Moove Secures $250M Series C at $2.1B Valuation to Scale Autonomous Vehicle Infrastructure
