Nigeria-founded mobility company Moove has ended its operations in the country, weeks after Uber’s departure disrupted the ride-hailing ecosystem that underpinned its local vehicle-financing business.
Moove said Thursday it will transfer ownership of eligible vehicles worth more than ₦35 billion ($26 million) to customers as part of its exit, allowing drivers currently operating the vehicles to own them outright without further payments to the company for the vehicles from October 1.
The move ends a six-year run in Nigeria for Moove, which was founded in Lagos in 2020 by Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi to provide vehicle financing to mobility entrepreneurs who struggled to access conventional credit.
The exit follows Uber’s decision to end its Nigerian operations after 12 years. Uber was the principal platform supporting Moove’s Nigerian business at scale, according to Delano, who said the ride-hailing company’s departure materially changed the economics of operating in the market.
“Uber was the principal platform supporting our Nigerian model at scale, so its departure had a significant effect on the business,” Delano said.
Moove assessed alternative ways to continue operating in Nigeria but concluded that it could not sustain its existing model, Delano said.
From 76 cars in Lagos to 42,000 globally
Moove started with just 76 vehicles in Lagos, building a Rental and Drive-to-Own model that gave drivers access to vehicles while providing a pathway to ownership.
The company used the model to expand internationally and now operates about 42,000 vehicles across 29 cities, according to Moove.
More than 9,000 customers have used Moove’s Drive-to-Own and rental products in Nigeria since the company began operating there. Those customers generated approximately ₦57 billion in revenue through Moove-financed vehicles, the company said.
Moove’s Nigerian business was therefore not simply a vehicle-financing operation. It was built around the wider ride-hailing economy, with drivers using platforms to generate the income needed to make vehicle payments.
Uber’s withdrawal removed the largest platform supporting that model at scale.
Moove gives drivers ownership of cars
Under a programme called Thank You Nigeria, Moove is bringing forward vehicle ownership for eligible customers.
Customers who qualify will take full ownership of the vehicles they currently operate. Scheduled payments to Moove from October 1, 2026 are being waived, although customers must settle outstanding remittances accrued before that date and complete the ownership-transfer process.
The vehicles being transferred are valued at more than ₦35 billion, according to Moove.
The company said the initiative is intended to recognise customers who helped build its Nigerian business and ensure that the vehicles continue supporting their livelihoods after Moove leaves the market.
Moove will also give cars to its Nigerian employees as part of its exit arrangements.
Uber departure changes Nigeria’s mobility market
Moove’s exit comes just over a month after Uber shut down its Nigerian operations, marking a significant change for a ride-hailing market that had developed around several interconnected businesses.
The impact extends beyond drivers and passengers. Vehicle-financing companies, fleet operators, insurers, vehicle maintenance businesses and other service providers have built businesses around the growth of app-based transport.
Moove’s experience demonstrates how closely some of those businesses were tied to the economics of the major ride-hailing platforms.
While Moove explored alternatives after Uber’s departure, Delano said the company ultimately determined that continuing in Nigeria was not economically sustainable.
The decision is specific to Nigeria rather than a withdrawal from mobility globally. Moove continues to operate its international fleet and has expanded into new mobility businesses, including autonomous vehicles.
A global company leaving its home market
Moove’s Nigerian exit comes as the company has evolved far beyond the business it built in Lagos.
What started as a financing solution for Nigerian ride-hailing drivers has become a global mobility company operating tens of thousands of vehicles.
Yet Nigeria remains central to its history.
“We started with 76 vehicles in Lagos and a belief that hardworking Nigerian mobility entrepreneurs deserved access to the vehicles and finance they needed to build their businesses,” Delano said.
The company said the Nigerian operation provided the foundation for its international expansion.
“Nigeria will always be where Moove started,” Delano said. “Wherever Moove goes next, our story will always start in Lagos.”
For Nigerian drivers, the immediate consequence of Moove’s departure is different from a conventional shutdown. Eligible customers will retain the vehicles they have been using, potentially turning what began as a financing arrangement into outright vehicle ownership.
For Nigeria’s mobility industry, however, Moove’s departure represents another contraction of a sector that has already lost one of its largest international platforms.
With Uber and now Moove gone, companies including Bolt and inDrive face a changed competitive landscape, while thousands of drivers and other businesses must adjust to an industry with fewer major players.
Moove’s journey from 76 vehicles in Lagos to a global fleet of 42,000 vehicles ultimately ends in Nigeria where it began—but the company is continuing its international expansion from markets outside its founding country.
