Max.ng Secures $7m Investment Fund

• Max.ng Secures $7m Investment Fund

Max.ng, one of Nigeria’s motorbike startups, has raised $7 million from some of the top investors in the world to expand its business operations in West Africa.

The app-based motorcycle startup raised six million of the investment in Series A funding and another $1 million in grants.

The investors are Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Zrosk Investment Management, Alitheia Capital, Novastar Ventures and Yamaha.

MAX has now raised a total of $9 million in funding.

According to Guy-Bertrand Njoya, MAX’s CFO, the company will use the fund to push its expansion drive to 10 cities in West Africa and add new vehicle classes –including watercraft and three-wheeled tuk tuk taxis.

“We intend to invest massively in our technology capabilities,” he said.

Shoji Shiraishi, the head of Yamaha’s New Venture Business Development Section, said “We want to work with good entrepreneurs in Africa to develop new business in Africa,” he stated. “We really want to understand local needs for motorcycles and…to support [MAX] expanding their business.”

This is the company’s second investment in a ride-hailing company in emerging market within a year after investing about $150 million in Grab, a Southeast Asian taxi company.

Similarly, Gokada, MAX’s competitor raised $5.3 million two months ago to expand and has since launched a Gboat service to transport people through the waterways.

However, MAX co-founder, Chinedu Azodoh, said the company is not scared to compete given its edge.

“We’re a very driver-centric business and at the end of the day the driver is where the business is at. If we find that maybe there’s something else we’re missing out on, we’re happy to jump into that.”