MOROCCO – Autochek, the automotive technology company making car ownership more accessible and affordable across Africa, has announced the acquisition of Morocco’s KIFAL Auto to drive its expansion into North Africa.
This acquisition represents the first major expansion of a West Africa-based startup into North Africa and it will facilitate effective Pan-African collaboration to drive innovation across the continent’s growing automotive market.
With this acquisition, Autochek is uniquely positioned to tap into the innovation that underpins Morocco’s thriving automotive ecosystem.
The company will introduce its market-leading solutions to alleviate various challenges across the value chain and further integrate the Pan-African automotive industry to drive shared value for consumers, manufacturers, financial institutions, and other stakeholders.
Autochek is building the financial infrastructure to drive the penetration of auto financing across Africa, powered by a data analytics engine that makes it easier for financial institutions to offer credit to consumers.
It has existing operations across West and East Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Uganda), a partner-led retail footprint in over 1,500 dealer and workshop locations, and more than 70 banking partners including Access Bank, Ecobank, UBA, Bank of Africa and NCBA Bank.
Meanwhile, KIFAL Auto was founded by Nizar Abdallaoui Maane in 2019 to transform the automotive experience in Morocco.
KIFAL provides a seamless process for buying and selling used cars and enabling access to financing, warranties, insurance, and other value-added services.
The startup was the first to be accepted into the inaugural cohort of CDG Invest’s 212 Founders accelerator program, which aims to fund and support world-class start-ups linked to Morocco and Africa.
Commenting on the deal, Etop Ikpe, CEO and co-founder of Autochek said, “from my first interaction with Nizar and his team at KIFAL Auto, I was so impressed by their passion for delivering effective solutions and their commitment to innovation.”
“They have built an excellent platform and we are thrilled to have them onboard at Autochek to support the work we are doing to improve the automotive finance value proposition in Africa.”
The deal will benefit from Morocco’s well-developed automotive markets in Africa, with more than 180,000 new cars and around 560,000 used cars sold annually.
As a result of various policy developments and investments in infrastructure, Morocco’s automotive sector is set to grow a further US$14 billion over the next five years.
The country is home to an innovative technology hub, powered by a thriving startup ecosystem that delivers a wide range of solutions to support the automotive industry.
Liked this article? Subscribe to DealStreet Africa News, our regular email newsletter with the latest news, deals, and insights from Africa’s business, economy, and more. SUBSCRIBE HERE
