Digital Automotive Commerce Company Checkout acquired Morocco KIFAL Auto for an undisclosed amount, which means the entry of the car market in North Africa.

The deal takes place only a year later Autochek bought Cheki Kenya and Cheki Uganda in Ringier One Africa Media. Prior to the deal in September 2021, Autochek bought its subsidiaries Cheki in Ghana and Nigeria and in partnership with the CFAO Group launched a network in Côte d’Ivoire. Following the acquisition, KIFAL Auto Autochek is now present in six countries in East, West and North Africa.

Like Autochek, KIFAL Auto connects car buyers and sellers, and through partnerships offers several other services, including financing and insurance.

“Since my first collaboration with Nizar and his team at KIFAL Auto, I have been so impressed with their passion for providing effective solutions and their commitment to innovation. They have created an excellent platform and we are thrilled with their involvement in Autochek to support the work we are doing to improve the car finance offer in Africa. There are so many parallels in our individual stories, and I look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship for many years to come, ”Autochek co-founder and CEO Etop Ikpe said in a statement.

(LR) Autochek CEO and co-founder Itop Ikpe and KIFAL Auto founder Nizar Abdullaui Maane. lmage Loans: Autochek

KIFAL, which was founded in 2019 by Nizar Abdalaoui Maane, is one of the leading car markets in Morocco, one of the largest markets for used and new cars in Africa. Following the latest deal, Maane and the KIFAL car team join Autochek to lead the company’s expansion efforts in North Africa.

“I have long been a supporter of the work that Autochek has done to improve the experience in the automotive value chain in Africa. We can learn a lot from each other and I look forward to the opportunity to bring our expertise and knowledge to provide more innovations that change the game in Morocco and beyond. In our industry and especially in the African context it makes a lot of sense to continue to grow with a major player. Morocco is the gateway to North Africa, and I am confident that we can discover new value and achieve further transformation across the field, ”Maane said.

Autochek says it has 1,500 dealers as partners in its markets and has partnerships with more than 70 financial partners including Access Bank, Ecobank, UBA, Bank of Africa and NCBA Bank.

The cars presented on the site go through various stages of inspection and are evaluated according to their status and performance. Ekpe said in a previous interview with TechCrunch that: “Estimates and some algorithmic checks of the Autochek system help to give an idea of ​​the condition and condition of the car, determining whether it is in a state of financing … because they (banks) do not want the situation. if they finance the car and the next day the engine knocks. ”

Autocheck said the loans were approved in about 48 hours. The company earns by charging a commission from dealers who place a listing on their platforms, in addition to a commission for promoting a loan from banks.

Autochek, which raised $ 13.1 million in the first round last October, is backed by a number of investors, including pan-African venture capitalists TLcom Capital, 4DX Ventures, Golden Palm Investments, Enza Capital, Lateral Capital, ASK Capital and Mobility 54. Investment SAS, a venture capital division of Toyota Tsusho and CFAO Group.