The start-up, which mainly operates in South Africa where Naspers is based, will use the funds for growth within the country and further expansion in Mexico, Planet42 CEO Eerik Oja said in an interview. The firm, founded in 2017, provides vehicle financing mostly to people who can’t access it from banks.Naspers has made 11 investments in South African-focused start-ups through its Foundry fund
“In South Africa, we want to put the pedal to the metal using this new financing to quickly add about 10 000 more cars to the fleet,” he said. “In Mexico, we are exploring where best to find customers, and how to switch on dealerships, so it takes time to get the ball rolling, but we have started to test the market and have about 250 cars that side.”
Naspers, which is also the parent company of Prosus, has made 11 investments in South African-focused start-ups through its Foundry fund. African start-ups raised a record $5.3-billion last year, according to data compiled by Briter Bridges, a market intelligence company. South Africa pulled a big portion of that, defying a deepening global slump in the technology industry.that Naspers has bought equity in Planet42.
The plan to move into Mexico next, came after Oja and his partners looked into markets such as Nigeria and Brazil and decided that the North American country had the most similarities to the South African market. “It’s very similar to South Africa in terms of income and car penetration and development or lack thereof, of financial services,” Oja said. “Plus public transportation there is slow, unreliable and dangerous, opening up a big market opportunity.” —