By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
Nigerian automotive technology company, Autochek, as part of its East African expansion drive, has acquired Cheki businesses in Kenya and Uganda from Ringier One Africa Media (ROAM) for an undisclosed amount.
This is coming after the ride-hailing company acquired Cheki in Nigeria and Ghana about a year ago.
Launched in 2010, Cheki is a virtual location where car sellers and buyers meet. It is a platform that offers a trusted, reliable, and cost-effective online marketplace for a wide range of quality vehicles. The startup, headquartered in Lagos, expanded operations to Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Cheki was acquired by ROAM in 2017 and became one of the listed online marketplaces and classifieds in its network like Jobberman.
The current acquisition marks Autochek’s achievement in the complete expansion of business from West Africa to the eastern part of the continent, as it leaves Cheki having its branches left in Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Commenting on the development, the founder and CEO of Autochek, Mr Etop Ikpe, said the acquisition of the East-Africa leading online auto marketplace will expand the auto financing company in providing better access to quality and affordable vehicles to African consumers.
He said, “Autochek’s mandate is to accelerate the ability of African consumers to access better quality and affordable vehicles by providing access to financing, while also derisking the auto lending process for financial institutions.
“We are long-time admirers and collaborators of the Cheki brand; following today’s news, we intend to provide even more trust and transparency in East Africa’s automotive sector, leveraging the unique networks we are now joining together.”
Mr Ikpe further noted that “The acquisition of Cheki Kenya and Uganda is an important milestone for us, and we are excited to be working with ROAM Africa once again, building on their achievements over the past years.”
“ROAM Africa has an unrivalled track record of operating and scaling some of Sub-Saharan Africa’s most innovative classified marketplaces and we look forward to leveraging on this solid business foundation,” he further said.
On his part, the CEO of ROAM Africa, Mr Clemens Weitz, said that “Autochek is the one player in Africa with the best team and expertise to truly create a game-changing consumer experience,” and that the development is good news for everyone directly involved, but will ultimately be of benefit to African car buyers and sellers.
Reiterating ROAM’s achievement over the years, he further stated that, “For ROAM Africa, this deal is more than a very good transaction: It unleashes even more focus on the strategic playbook for our core businesses. We have a clear strategy that will further strengthen our leading marketplaces and invest in innovative product solutions.
“The opportunity is now bigger than ever since the pandemic has vastly accelerated digitization across the continent. In the last two years, our businesses recorded unprecedented growth. Thus, our commitment to connect Africans to opportunities remains strong.”
