Nigerian Auto-Tech Startup Autochek Buys CoinAfrique to Promote Francophone African Expansion

To expand the reach of its auto-financing services in Francophone Africa, Nigeria-based auto-tech business Autochek has announced the acquisition of CoinAfrique, the top platform for classified ads in that continent.

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. With the acquisition of CoinAfrique, the business, which last year acquired US$13.1 million in initial capital for West African expansion, has now expanded into Ivory Coast, Senegal, and other French-speaking nations.

With a presence in 12 French-speaking African nations and a 2016 founding by Matthias Papet and Eric Genetre, CoinAfrique has developed into the leading classified marketplace for Francophone Africa, allowing both businesses and individuals to easily buy and sell cars, electronics, real estate, and other products.

More than two million people have downloaded the CoinAfrique app, and it has 800,000 active users and 60,000 new adverts per month. The acquisition of CoinAfrique by Autochel will make it easier for more French-speaking Africans to obtain finance and other value-added services for their automobiles because 50% of activity conducted on the platform occurs in the automotive sector.

With a strong integration of Autochek’s auto-financing offering to promote access to credit for automotive purchases, CoinAfrique’s larger classifieds company will continue to function across the many product categories. Autochek will incorporate the CoinAfrique team.

“Matthias and Eric are the forerunners of the classifieds model in Africa, and they have established a remarkable platform with numerous key agreements with automakers, finance platforms, and other players in the Francophone automotive industry. “We are excited to use their knowledge to strengthen the automobile finance value offer across the continent,” said Etop Ikpe, CEO and co-founder of Autochek. “They are joining the Autochek family with many years of business and infrastructure development experience across Europe and Africa.

Papet expressed his excitement for the chance to advance the adoption of auto-financing throughout Francophone Africa and to aid Autochek’s larger objective throughout Africa.

Using Autochek’s market-leading loans product and expertise, he added, “we see many chances to unlock value for users across all categories on our platform and to grow into other countries. We are looking forward to delivering more transformative experiences for our consumers.”