Tech company has partnered with First Bank to launch used-vehicle financing

folarin okunola

October 19, 2016 1:23 PM

To qualify for the used-car financing package, drivers will need an average driver performance rating of higher than 4.5.

Ebi Atawodi, Uber Lagos general manager

Uber Nigeria has announced that it will start providing low-interest, used-vehicle loans to its highest rated driver-partners in Nigeria.

The move stems from a partnership between Uber Nigeria and First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FBN), along with other smaller financiers. Basically, driver-partners will be able to apply for financing for used cars based on their driver performance records.

Ebi Atawodi, Uber's General Manager in Nigeria, in a statement made available to Pulse Tech, said the used vehicle finance offering is the first of its kind to be made available to driver-partners in Nigeria.

“We are absolutely committed to making it as easy as possible for our driver-partners to start and maintain their own successful and profitable businesses,” Atawodi explains, “and these used vehicle finance options make it possible for those with a demonstrable performance commitment to building sustainable businesses without incurring the high costs often associated with new vehicle purchases.”

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Uber hopes this will spur significant business growth opportunities for its driver-partners. The used-car financing comes with an annual 20% interest rate and has a repayment period of two years.

There is also another package that offers a 22% annual interest rate but with a longer 36-month repayment period.

Adesola Adeduntan, MD/CEO of FBN, in a statement, said, “It remains our business to foster the growth and development of small and medium scale businesses in Nigeria as the No1 SME Bank. This is the reason why we have partnered with Uber by empowering operators to own vehicles and build profitable businesses."

To qualify for the used-car financing package, drivers will need an average driver performance rating of higher than 4.5 and must have earned more than N2,4 million within the preceding 6 months.

Recently, there has been numerous reports of traffic and security officials harassing Uber driver in the commercial city of Lagos, with the Lagos State Government also bringing a tax evasion case against the company. In Nigeria, Uber currently operates in the cities of Lagos and Abuja.

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