Nigeria’s Autochek Has Acquired Morocco’s KIFAL Auto

Nigeria’s Autochek has announced its acquisition of  KIFAL Auto, a Moroccan automotive technology startup, to drive its expansion into North Africa. 

This announcement comes months after it acquired the Ugandan and Kenyan operations of Cheki, an online car marketplace.

Autochek looks to bring Africa’s sales and servicing of cars online. It also aims to build the financial infrastructure to drive the penetration of auto financing across Africa.

In October last year, the firm raised $13.1 million in a seed round and is backed by several investors, including pan-African VC firms TLcom Capital, 4DX Ventures, Golden Palm Investments, Enza Capital, and others.

KIFAL Auto was founded by Nizar Abdallaoui Maane, a former BNP Paribas consultant, in 2019 to ease the process of buying and selling cars in Morocco. In addition, the company provides access to financing, warranties, insurance, and other services.

Morocco is one of the most developed automotive markets in Africa – in 2021, car sales exceeded 160,000 units, creating more than 220,000 direct jobs.

According to a report by Mordor Intelligence – the moto industry in the country was valued at $4 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach a value of $5.5 billion by 2027, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 6% during the forecast period.

“From my first interaction with Nizar and his team at KIFAL Auto, I was impressed by their passion for delivering effective solutions and their commitment to innovation. They have built an excellent platform, and we are thrilled to have them onboard at Autochek to support the work we are doing to improve the automotive finance value proposition in Africa.

“There are so many parallels in our individual stories, and I look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship for years to come,” said Etop Ikpe, CEO and co-founder of Autochek, when speaking to IAfrikan.