Senegalese financier Ibrahim Sagna-led Silverbacks invests $37 million in Lagos-founded Moove

Silverbacks Holdings, the private investment firm led by Senegalese financier Ibrahim Sagna, has invested a cumulative $37 million in Moove, making it the firm’s largest single investment in an African-born technology company.

Silverbacks began investing in Moove during the company’s A1 funding round and has increased its stake through subsequent financing rounds. The firm’s investment is now valued at over $62 million based on Moove’s latest Series C valuation, which values the company at $2.1 billion.

Lagos-founded Moove raises $250 million funding

Moove, founded in Lagos in 2020 by British-Nigerian entrepreneurs Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, provides vehicle financing and fleet services to drivers and mobility platforms. The company has expanded beyond its Nigerian roots to operate across multiple markets as it develops its business in both conventional and autonomous transportation.

The latest Silverbacks investment formed part of Moove’s $250 million Series C funding round led by Mubadala Investment Company and co-led by Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth fund. Existing investors, including Uber, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and MUFG, also participated, alongside Speedinvest, The Latest Ventures and Square Associates. New investors included BlueCrest Capital Management, Sona Asset Management and The Raptor Group.

African tech giant scales global fleet expansion

Moove said it now operates about 42,000 vehicles across 29 cities in 13 countries and has more than 3,300 employees worldwide. The company is Uber’s largest global fleet partner and also operates autonomous vehicle fleets through its partnership with Waymo.

Its autonomous vehicle operations are live or have been announced in cities including Phoenix, Miami, Las Vegas and London. Delano, Moove’s co-founder, co-CEO and advisory board chairman, said Silverbacks had increased its investment in the company as Moove expanded into new markets.

“Over the last six years, as we were expanding the company across the globe, they systematically scaled up their investments into our business — round after round,” Delano said. “We appreciate their partnership and look forward to building on what we’ve achieved together.”

For Sagna, the investment reflects Silverbacks’ strategy of backing technology companies that are founded in Africa and can expand internationally. “We are committed to backing dominant, tech-enabled platforms born in Africa that can scale to the rest of the world,” Sagna said.

Silverbacks expands portfolio across tech, sports

Silverbacks’ investment in Moove adds to a series of deals by the firm across African technology and other sectors. The firm began the year with its 10th exit after Mono, an open-banking company in its portfolio, was acquired by Flutterwave, another Silverbacks-backed company.

Silverbacks has also expanded its investments beyond financial technology. The firm recently secured new capital for its sports platform from Hollywood actor and director Boris Kodjoe and South African producer Pepsi Pokane. They joined an advisory board that also includes Nigerian musician Mr Eazi and Hollywood executive Sandy Climan.

The Moove investment gives Silverbacks a sizable position in one of the African technology companies that has expanded most aggressively outside the continent. For Moove, the new capital provides further funding as it builds its vehicle-financing and fleet business across global markets.