Cars45 Nigeria
“Can a used-car marketplace in a cash-heavy, credit-scarce market like Nigeria monetize through embedded auto lending and insurance rather than pure listing fees?”
Founded2016
HQLagos, Nigeria
Total raised$5M
Latest roundSeries A, 2017
IndustryMarketplace / Automotive
The story
Cars45 launched in 2016 as a C2B online used-car marketplace in Nigeria, using inspection centers to buy cars from consumers and resell to dealers. After venture funding stalled amid FX headwinds and a market downturn, the company was acquired by Nigerian classifieds giant Jiji in 2021 and rebranded 'Powered by Jiji.' The current product has pivoted to a B2C and dealer marketplace with embedded auto lending and insurance distribution as the primary monetization lever beyond listing fees.
Last 12 months
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Product timeline
2016
Founded in Lagos as an online marketplace to buy, inspect, and sell used cars in Nigeria.· launch
2017
Raised $5M Series A from Frontier Cars Group (Balderton, EchoVC, TPG Growth, NEA).· funding
2019
Partnered with Allianz Nigeria for retail auto insurance distribution via Cars45autopreneur app.· insurance
2021
Acquired by Jiji.ng, becoming part of Jiji's classifieds group.· acquisition
2023
Launched car loans with GAC Motor Nigeria for buyer financing.· lending
The stack
2 layers disclosed in Cars45 Nigeria’s embedded-finance stack
Lending
Cars45 car loansGAC Motor Nigeria financing partnership
Insurance
in the full report
Accounting gap: none
1 more provider across 1 layer, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.