Planet42, an Estonian fintech company that focuses on providing access to mobility to the underbanked in Africa, raised €2.2M ($2.4M) in seed funding.
The round was led by Change Ventures with participation from Martin Villig (Bolt), Ragnar Sass (Pipedrive), Marko Virkebau (MeetFrank), Kristjan Vilosius (Katana MRP), and several other Estonian tech entrepreneurs.
The company will use the funds to expand its portfolio of vehicles.
Launched as CarGet in 2017 to service South Africa by Eerik Oja, co-founder and CEO, and Marten Orgna, co-founder and CFO, Planet42 partners with dealerships across South Africa to offer access to a personal car to its largely underbanked clientele (9 out of 10 of customers). The company uses an automated scoring algorithm to process client applications based on credit bureau, affordability, and alternative data. If the application is approved, Planet42 analyses the customer’s validation documents, such as IDs, payslips and bank statements before purchasing the car from the dealership and renting it to the customer. The asset is secured with tracking technology, as well as comprehensive and mechanical insurance.
So far nearly 2,000 vehicles have been delivered to clients this way. The startup is targeting a total of 100,000 cars by 2024 in South Africa alone.
FinSMEs
16/06/2020