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Autochek Secures $13.1m Seed Fund to Facilitate Auto Financing
By Adedapo Adesanya
Autochek, the automotive technology company facilitating auto financing across Africa, has secured $13.1 million in seed funding.
Co-led by follow-on investors, TLcom Capital and 4DX Ventures, the round also included participation from existing investors, Golden Palm Investments, Enza Capital, Lateral Capital as well as new participants, ASK Capital and Mobility 54 Investment SAS (the venture capital arm of Toyota Tsusho Corporation/CFAO Group).
With the new funding secured just under a year after Autochek’s $3.4mn pre-seed raise, the round was led by Autochek’s lead investors – TLcom Capital and 4DX Ventures.
As part of Autochek’s growth strategy, the capital will be deployed to bolster its core auto loan processing platform and deepen its footprint in West Africa, starting with its recent entry into Cote d’Ivoire.
Additionally, the company is rapidly expanding its footprint across East Africa, following its recent acquisition of Cheki Kenya and Cheki Uganda. As part of the investment by Mobility54, Autochek will be leveraging Toyota Tsusho’s vast retail network across 54 African countries to further deepen its expansion.
Launched in October 2020 and operational across East and West Africa in 5 countries – Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Cote d’Ivoire; Autochek combines technology, underpinned by data analytics to deepen auto finance penetration across the continent.
Powered by its residual value algorithm, Autochek has built in-house digital solutions such as Collateral Management, Dealer Management Systems and a proprietary CRM system for managing stakeholder operations within the ecosystem such as vehicle financing, inspection, valuation, and inventory management.
Since its pre-seed raise in November 2020, the platform has achieved rapid traction across its business, most notably in the area of auto-financing, where the number of processed loan applications rose from just 10 in November to over 46,000 to date.
Autochek has partnered with 70 banks across the continent, including leading regional players such as Access Bank, Ecobank, UBA, Bank of Africa and NCBA Bank.
Since the start of the year, the startup has also achieved several key milestones, including over 1000 dealers on the Autochek network actively using the loan processing solution and over 15,000 certified and financeable vehicles on the Autochek marketplace across its markets. Over the course of the year, Autochek also launched its truck financing platform and, more recently, financing of brand new vehicles.
Speaking on the next phase of Autochek’s rapid growth following its fundraise, Mr Etop Ikpe, Founder and CEO of Autochek, said, “At Autochek, our driving force is to increase financing penetration on the continent; we have been amazed by the market adoption rate and the support from our banking partners in the countries we operate in.
“We stepped into this space knowing we were tackling one of the most significant challenges for Africa’s automotive sector – the lack of a simplified, digital-first financing process. By combining our expertise and networks, we have been able to impact the automotive sector.
“We are extremely delighted with the progress we’ve made in a short amount of time. With this funding and the support of our strategic investors, the entire team at Autochek are dedicated to delivering exceptional service for customers and partners, as well as deploying our technology across Africa.”
On his part, Mr Andreata Muforo, Partner at TLcom, says “Autochek has achieved significant traction in one of Africa’s key verticals and is making impressive progress in bringing transparency and efficiency in this complex and fragmented industry. The foundation of its growth has been the strong leadership of its CEO, Etop Ikpe, a repeat founder in the automotive market whose world-class experience gave us the confidence to initially invest in Autochek in 2020.
“We look forward to the next chapter of Autochek’s growth as it continues to unlock the major upside which has remained dormant in Africa’s automotive sector for decades.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A bill aimed at prohibiting hawking, trading or preaching inside commercial vehicles in Nigeria has been passed by the Senate.
The bill known as the Federal Road Safety Corps (Amendment) Bill, 2026, imposes fines between N50,000 and N100,000 for violations if assented to by the President.
The piece of legislation was passed by the red chamber of the National Assembly on Thursday and should later be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Members of the upper chamber of the parliament explained that the law was amended to discourage distractions in commercial vehicles and improve the safety of commuters.
In addition, motorists who fail to cooperate with officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) during roadside breath tests conducted on reasonable suspicion are liable to fines or imprisonment or both.
Lawmakers noted that this was to improve compliance with road safety regulations and reduce road crashes, as fines for driving under the influence of alcohol or intoxicating drugs were raised to N100,000 from N5,000, with the risk of spending two years behind bars.
It was also proposed that disobedience to traffic lights, road signs, pavement markings and other traffic control devices will now attract N100,000, while the fine for speed limit violations is now N100,000, with reckless driving now a fine of N100,000 or two years’ imprisonment.
By Dipo Olowookere
Residents and motorists plying the Aina Obembe Road in Baruwa, Ipaja, Lagos, may soon heave a sigh of relief as the excruciating traffic gridlock being experienced in the area both day and night may soon be a thing of the past.
This is because the chairman of Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA, Mr Lukmon Agbaje, has directed those involved in indiscriminate truck parking along the road to remove the heavy-duty vehicles within one week, threatening to invoke appropriate enforcement measures for noncompliance with this directive.
Speaking during a meeting on Wednesday with the management of SENA Company, which owns the affected trucks, as well as the leadership of Oluwadara CDA and other key stakeholders like the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), at the council’s secretariat, Mr Agbaje frowned at the prolonged inconvenience suffered by the community, stressing that public roads must remain accessible and safe for all users.
He emphasised the need for a collaborative approach in resolving the issue without undermining legitimate business operations, noting that he’s focused on finding a lasting solution to the gridlock experienced between Oluwaga and Aina Obembe, where parked trucks have continued to obstruct traffic, disrupt business activities, and pose safety concerns for residents and motorists.
He tasked the firm and the CDA to jointly identify and implement alternative parking arrangements that would remove all trucks from the affected roads and restore the free flow of traffic.
He declared that, “The welfare of our people remains our highest priority. No individual or corporate organisation should obstruct public infrastructure or create avoidable hardship for residents. We must ensure that economic activities coexist with public safety, order, and convenience.”
The council chief reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to promoting orderly development, ensuring safe and accessible roads, improving traffic management, and creating an environment where businesses can thrive alongside the well-being of residents.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has cut import levies on new and used vehicles by as much as 10 per cent in a move aimed at reducing the cost of vehicle importation, even as it commenced the implementation of a new Green Tax surcharge.
According to an update issued by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Wednesday, the import levy on new vehicles has been reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, while the levy on used vehicles has been slashed from 15 per cent to five per cent under the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures, which took effect on July 1, 2026.
The customs said the policy is designed to ease the cost of vehicle imports while advancing the government’s environmental sustainability objectives through the newly introduced Green Tax.
The implementation also reduces the overall import duty on fully built passenger vehicles from 70 per cent to 40 per cent.
As part of the Green Tax framework, a new environmental surcharge of between two per cent and four per cent will apply to petrol-powered vehicles with engine capacities exceeding 2,000cc. However, mass transit buses, electric vehicles, and passenger cars with engines below 2,000cc are exempt from the surcharge.
Beyond the automobile sector, the fiscal measures also lower import duties on several essential goods. The duty on imported rice has been reduced from 70 per cent to 47.5 per cent, while crude palm oil now attracts a 28.75 per cent duty.
In addition, import duties on agricultural and manufacturing machinery have been completely removed to support local production, while Waste PET has been added to the export prohibition list to encourage domestic recycling.
