Grace Ashiru
Peach Cars, the Kenyan-based automotive marketplace, has successfully raised a $5 million seed round. The primary contributors included The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC) from Japan, as well as angel investors such as Shintaro Yamada (founder and CEO of Mercari), Peter Kenevan (VP, Head of Japan at PayPal), and Hiroaki Ohta (general partner at Japan’s Waseda University Ventures).
Launched in 2020 by Kaoru Kaganoi and Zachary Petroni, Peach Cars aims to make car ownership more accessible in sub-Saharan Africa, beginning with Kenya. The funding will accelerate business growth, hire new talent, and enhance R&D, emphasizing expanding the company’s tech offerings.
Peach Cars’ founders, in discussion with TechCrunch, shared their vision of filling a void in Kenya’s used cars market. CEO Kaganoi revealed his struggle to find reliable used goods and vehicles when he relocated to Kenya. He pointed out the prevalent issues with the existing marketplaces, such as a lack of price transparency, the risk of fraud, non-secure payments, and subpar customer experiences.
To kickstart Peach Cars, the founders had to consider market viability, operational considerations, and unit economics. With their backgrounds in the mobility sector, both founders leveraged their experience to create a platform that caters to high-value asset classes in Kenya.
The CEO also debunked the common misconception that African consumers don’t value the purchasing process, highlighting the care and consideration that African buyers put into their purchases. Peach Cars aims to provide an exceptional experience to all, regardless of whether they’re purchasing a $4,000 or a $40,000 vehicle.
Kaganoi emphasized the company’s mission to offer transparent, customer-centric, and trusted services for Africa’s youthful and burgeoning middle class. Peach Cars plan to redefine Kenya’s car ownership and maintenance process, fostering a stronger relationship between customers and automotive mechanics.
Peach Cars have reportedly created an advanced engine check device with proprietary software to automate car inspection. The comprehensive 225-point inspection system, benchmarked against the standards of the Japanese auto industry, provides a detailed and accurate report of all vehicle systems.
Peach Cars operate with a customer-to-customer (C2C) model, differentiating it from African mobility startups like Autochek and Moove, which primarily focus on asset financing and management. Peach’s edge lies in its educational approach toward car ownership, streamlined discovery processes, superior transaction and payment management, and, most crucially, vehicle maintenance and servicing.
The company generates revenue through service fees and commissions on successful transactions and additional services such as administrative work for transaction agreements, inspections, ownership changes, secure payments, and handovers. Peach Cars, which has already sold hundreds of cars and plans to launch a fully-automated inspection center in 2024, currently generates a monthly gross merchandise volume (GMV) of over $200,000.
Kiran Mysore, Principal at UTEC, lauded Peach Cars’ customer-centric approach and innovative use of IoT devices and data analysis. He expressed UTEC’s pride in collaborating with Peach Cars, fostering a partnership that combines Japanese automotive expertise with the African market.
