South African car subscription service Planet42 raises $100M equity, debt
Summary
The equity round welcomed participation from existing and new shareholders, including Rivonia Road Capital; the Los Angeles-based global alternative asset manager provided a $75 million credit facility. When co-founder and CEO Eerik Oja spoke to TechCrunch in an interview in December 2021, Planet42 claimed to have distributed more than 7,000 cars to customers in South Africa; according to a statement released by the company, it purchased over 5,000 vehicles in the African country in the last 12 months. Only half the worlds urban population has adequate access to public transportation, according to the UN, and many of those excluded from access to reliable public transport are wage-earning workers in emerging markets who, despite having bank accounts and stable incomes, are unable to get financing from traditional financial institutions to buy vehicles of their own.In South Africa, 70% of vehicle finance applications get rejected by banks, according to Cars.co.za, Planet42 dealers, which have increased from 700 in 2021 to 1,000 dealerships, report up to 90% rejection rates. Planet42 is one of the few upstarts, including Moove, Autochek and FlexClub, focused on the African market tackling this inequality via different mobility offerings.For Planet42, it uses proprietary scoring algorithms to assess risk in underbanked customer segments. Dealers in Planet42s South African network have reported an average increase in sales of 26% since becoming partners, the company said in a statement.Safe and reliable transport is a key driver of social and economic inclusion in emerging economies.