Y Combinator-backed Mecho Autotech connects car owners with quality vehicle repair and maintenance providers. The company has raised a $2.15 million seed round.
The funds will be used to “grow its multi-channel service capacity, engineering team, and marketing budget for B2C acquisition,” according to the company.
Mecho Autotech, which was founded by Olusegun Owoade and Ayoola Akinkunmi, has built a network of approved in-house and third-party mechanics with client affordability (of enterprises and retail customers) in mind, according to Owoade.
“So we created a network of vetted technicians across 35 states in Nigeria to address the country’s poor vehicle maintenance culture,” he explained.
“We also devised an insurance strategy because we are aware that motor insurance is required.”
“So, if we have an insurance plan with an annual maintenance plan built-in, it’s essentially replacing for the after-sales package that individuals who buy new cars get.”
According to Owoade, Mecho Autotech chose to work with business clients first since it allowed the company to fine-tune its service.
He explained that these clients, who own large fleets, typically work with multiple workshops and spend more than $30 million each year on auto repairs and upkeep.
They will, however, interact with a single business, Mecho Autotech, which will handle all of their workshops.
Shuttlers, Moove, Tolaram Group, and Kobo are among the companies that have onboarded over 7,000 third-party mechanics across three workshops in Lagos that serve B2B customers.
It charges a 15% commission fee, with 10% coming from service charges and 5% from spare parts charges.
A portion of the seed money would be used to increase this capability. It will also aid in the scaling of Mecho Autotech’s mobile application, which was introduced last month for its B2C customers.
The two-year-old company says it wants to reach 25,000 users this year and will charge them a monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription fee.
To get to this level of success, the CEO stated his firm has a success-based agreement with the Google Play Store, where it will use a pay-per-download model in exchange for the platform promoting Mecho’s app.
Another idea is to deploy mobile services to meet retail clients at their location if they do not choose to visit a Mecho Autotech workshop or one of our partner garages.
A portion of the seed money would be used to increase this capability. It will also aid in the scaling of Mecho Autotech’s mobile application, which was introduced last month for its B2C customers.
The two-year-old company says it wants to reach 25,000 users this year and will charge them a monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription fee.
To get to this level of success, the CEO stated his firm has a success-based agreement with the Google Play Store, where it will use a pay-per-download model in exchange for the platform promoting Mecho’s app.
Another idea is to deploy mobile services to meet retail clients at their location if they do not choose to visit a Mecho Autotech workshop or one of our partner garages.
According to the company, the round was “oversubscribed by over 300%”.
Investors involved in the seed round include Future Africa, HoaQ Capital, Cathexis Ventures, V8 Capital, Silver Squid and Tekedia Capital.
