Online car dealership, Africar Group recently started operations in 12 African countries – Burkina Faso, Benin, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, Swaziland, Chad, Uganda, and Zambia. According to them, these are the countries with low competition in the car classifieds websites industry.
AfriCar Group wants to connect local sellers with local buyers (individuals and businesses), and increase the volume and sales as well as decreasing commissions and selling times. They also have plans to release mobile apps for both Android and iOS devices, as well as new features for the daily visitors.
The website for each country includes a word in one of the local languages in that country. That’s CarSugu (Burkina Faso), CarIsowo (Benin), CarGebeya (Ethiopia), CarYanga (Malawi), Mobili (Mali), CarYange (Namibia), CarIsoko (Rwanda), Gaadhi (Somalia), CarTsenga (Swaziland), CarSuq (Chad), CarKibanda (Uganda), and CarYandi (Zambia).
AfriCar Group has already secured an undisclosed seed round with Australian and European business angels and their going to use this funding to build their teams and start showing the traction around car classifieds in Africa. Currently, their 70-man team includes operational teams in each country, regional managers, a technical team localised in Sydney, Australia, and a management team in Paris, France.
The plan is to be the first car classifieds network on the continent, allowing users to trade vehicles with users from neighbouring countries, in the next 2 years.
