Asaak, a Ugandan asset financing startup, has secured $30 million in pre-Series A equity and debt funding, with participation from Resolute Ventures, Social Capital, HOF Capital, Founders Factory Africa, End Poverty Make Trillions, Decentralized VC and angel investors.
Asaak offers motorbike financing to operators, who are often locked out by formal banking institutions due to stringent security requirements. Through Asaak, bodaboda operators are now able to own the motorcycles they ride, rather than renting or leasing them.
“Asaak is unlocking mobility-based work, which literally moves the economy forward and creates upward mobility for these individuals,” Asaak co-founder and chief business officer Dylan Terrill told TechCrunch.
Asaak approves riders for motorcycle financing using behavioral and financial data like their earnings, trips made and their ratings from platforms like Bolt, Jumia, Safeboda and Uber. Drivers usually receive motorcycle financing (about $1,500 worth of credit) within three days of signing up, and pay an interest of between 1 to 4% depending on their credit score.
Asaak, which started operations in Soroti, Uganda in 2016, pivoted to motorcycle financing in 2019. The startup has so far financed the purchase of 5,000 motorcycles, and has also started providing smartphones and fuel financing to the operators.
The startup has also partnered with Standard Bank, headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, to offer financial services to millions of workers in the informal sector through Asaak’s proprietary digital loan origination system.
