Autochek has entered into the North African auto market with the acquisition of Morocco’s KIFAL Auto for an undisclosed fee. This comes seven months after it entered the East African market with the acquisition of Cheki Kenya and Cheki Uganda from Ringier One Africa Media, and 20 months after it acquired Cheki Nigeria.
Launched in 2020, Autochek combines technology, underpinned by data analytics to deepen auto finance penetration across the continent.
With this acquisition, Autochek wants to tap into the budding automotive industry in Morocco which was valued at $4 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $5.5 billion by 2027. In 2021, car sales in Morocco exceeded 160,000 units, creating more than 220,000 direct jobs. The industry is also expected to contribute as much as 24% to the Moroccan GDP by 2022.
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This acquisition now makes Autochek present in six African countries, including Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Uganda.
Autochek co-founder and CEO, Etop Ikpe, said in a statement that the acquisition will help the auto company to tap into huge opportunities that abound in the Moroccan auto market.
“From my first interaction with Nizar and his team at KIFAL Auto, I was so 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.
“I have long been an admirer of the work Autochek has done to enable improved experiences across Africa’s automotive value chain. There is so much we can learn from each other, and I am looking forward to bringing my experience and expertise to deliver more game changing innovation in Morocco and beyond,” he said.
KIFAL Auto was founded in 2019 by Nizar Abdalaoui Maane, and it has grown since then to become one of the biggest players in the Moroccan auto market. Maane said the acquisition will boost KIFAL’s growth potential.
“In our Industry and especially in an African context, it makes a lot of sense to continue growing with a large player. Morocco is a gateway into North Africa and I am confident that we can unlock new value and drive further transformation across the board,” he said.
