Moove said it will transfer ownership of eligible vehicles worth more than ₦35 billion to customers as part of its exit, allowing drivers currently operating the vehicles to own them outright without further payments to the company from October 1. For many of those drivers, the cars are their primary source of income, representing the difference between financial stability and unemployment in a country where formal jobs remain scarce.
The exit ends a six-year run in Nigeria for Moove, which was founded in Lagos in 2020 by Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi to provide vehicle financing to mobility entrepreneurs who struggled to access conventional credit. The company is now closing in the city where it began, having once been considered one of the continent’s most promising mobility startups after raising over $100 million in funding across multiple rounds.
The shutdown took effect Thursday, October 8, roughly one month after Uber itself wound down its 12-year presence in Nigeria and Uganda following a review of how it allocates investment across the African continent. The timing is not coincidental.
Uber was the principal platform supporting Moove’s Nigerian business at scale, and Uber’s departure materially changed the economics of operating in the market, according to Delano. Without that platform, the Nigerian operation had no floor. Moove’s financing model depended on drivers generating consistent ride-hailing income, and the removal of Uber’s rider base made reliable repayment projections difficult to sustain.
“Uber was the principal platform supporting our Nigerian model at scale, so its departure had a significant effect on the business,” Delano said. He did not say whether Moove explored alternative platforms before deciding to exit.
Moove also said it would reward all its staff members with a free car, although it did not disclose the total number of employees eligible for the benefit. That detail remains unverified and unquantified. The gesture mirrors the vehicle transfer extended to customers, suggesting the company made a deliberate decision to distribute its remaining Nigerian fleet rather than liquidate it through other channels.
According to Moove, more than 9,000 customers used its Drive-to-Own and rental products in Nigeria, generating approximately ₦57 billion in revenue through vehicles financed by the company. Ladi Delano said the figures reflected the livelihoods built around the company’s operations.
“More than 9,000 customers have used our Drive-to-Own and rental products in Nigeria,” Delano told TechCabal. “Those numbers matter because they represent people earning, supporting their families, and building their own futures.”
Moove started in Lagos by providing vehicle financing to ride-hailing drivers, allowing them to acquire cars and repay the cost from their earnings. Its relationship with Uber became an important part of that model, making Uber’s exit particularly significant for the business.
Moove said it has 42,000 vehicles operating across 29 cities globally. Nigeria, the market where the company was born, will no longer be among them after today.
As part of its exit, the company said it will transfer full ownership of eligible vehicles worth approximately ₦35 billion to existing customers at no cost. The affected customers will take full ownership of the vehicles, with no further payments to Moove required from October 1, 2026.
Uber announced its exit from Nigeria on September 2, saying it was reviewing its business priorities and investment focus across Africa. The company said it would concentrate on markets where it could create more value for drivers and riders at scale.
That Moove’s exit is coming a month after Uber ended its ride-hailing operations in Nigeria has sparked concerns about the country’s viability for mobility investment. No other major vehicle-financing company has announced plans to fill the gap.
A visit to the Maryland, Lagos, location last week showed that the showroom has been locked since the shutdown of Uber in September. The vehicles that remain are now, for the first time, fully owned by the people driving them. Moove Nigeria exits, having transferred that ownership as its final act.
