Togolese
startup, Gozem, has completed the acquisition of Moneex for an undisclosed
amount.
Raphael
Dana and Emeka Ajene founded Gozem in 2018 to digitise transportation in West
and Central Africa. Launching in Lome, the capital of Togo, the startup soon
expanded to Benin off the back of a $900k seed investment.
It
grew quickly too, signing up 8,000 customers and completing 1,500 rides in the
first month. It now has 160,000 customers in four countries — Togo, Gabon, Cameroon, and
Gabo — and provides motorcycle, tricycle, and car rides.
Gozem positioned itself as a super app from its early days,
hoping to replicate the success of Asian startups such as Grab and Gojek.
Consequently, its acquisition of Moneex will enable it to add financial
services following its acquisition
“Expanding
our financial services through the Gozem Money solution represents the next
frontier in our ongoing commitment to delivering essential digital services to
our users across Africa. With the addition of the Moneex Team to our ranks, we
are poised to accelerate the introduction of our innovative fintech offerings
to the market,”
Martial Konvi, Global Head of Product at Gozem, said in a statement.
While
the value of the deal is undisclosed, Moneex’s founders will join Gozem and
receive equity in the company.
“We
are thrilled to be joining Gozem, a company that shares our vision for a more
inclusive and innovative financial future in Africa. Our fintech expertise and
Gozem's reach and resources will allow us to accelerate our mission of making
better financial services accessible to everyone,” Florent Ogoutchoro, Co-Founder and CEO
of Moneex, said.
In
addition to adding mobile money services, Gozem is adding credit, having
already secured $10 million from the International Finance Corporation to
finance 6,000 cars.
While
super apps were once popular in Africa, many players like Gokada and Safeboda
have toned down their ambitions. OPay stopped its super app plans to
focus on a fintech vertical that has seen huge success. However, Union54
recently announced it would be launching a
super app, ChitChat, in partnership with Mastercard.
