MAX Plans Expansion Into Ghana With $31M Series B Round

Metro Africa Xpress (MAX), a vehicle subscription platform for low-to-zero emission vehicles, has raised $31 million in the first close of a Series B funding round, with further closes expected in the next few weeks.

MAX will use the Series B round to drive international expansion into Egypt and Ghana during the first quarter of 2022, followed by Francophone, East, and Southern Africa. The capital will also enable the deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and credit and financial products to over 100,000 drivers.

Global private equity platform Lightrock, for whom it is the first investment in the African mobility space, and UAE-based international venture capital firm Global Ventures led the round. It also included participation from new investors, such as venture debt from Proparco, the French development finance institution, through its Digital Africa Bridge Fund. Existing investor Novastar Ventures also participated.

Founded in 2015 by Adetayo Bamiduro and Chinedu Azodoh, MAX is building the rails for mobility in Africa by delivering integrated, affordable and collateral-free vehicle subscription packages, including low to zero-emission vehicles, healthcare, insurance, maintenance, and e-hailing subscriptions.

MAX’s platform leverages alternative data sets to power driver onboarding, the dynamic credit assessment, fleet optimisation, digital payments, and advanced risk management. The company has pioneered this operating model, and its technology is powered in partnerships with global OEMs such as Yamaha, ride-hailing platforms such as Bolt, financial services strategic partners, payment infrastructure providers and clean energy providers.

MAX’s market is over 15 million commercial drivers across Africa’s $250 billion mobility industry, and the company has proliferated. Currently, it serves over 13,000 drivers, with over 60,000 prospective drivers in the pipeline. Over 17 million trips have been completed on the platform, which has saved 22,000 tonnes of CO2.

“We are delighted to announce this funding round. This new investment from highly respected global investors such as Lightrock and Global Ventures, plus continued support from our existing investors, further validates our business model and strategy,” Adetayo Bamiduro, CEO of MAX, said.

“It is another milestone in our journey to make mobility safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable by deploying high-performance technologies and operators. The investment will enable us to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of drivers across the continent, accelerate international expansion, and continue our pioneering initiatives in the mobility space.”