MAX, a Lagos-based electric mobility company, has raised its Series B3 round to $29 million after a new investment from Nithio, a U.S. climate finance firm.
Neither company disclosed how much Nithio put in. The investment tops up a $24 million equity and debt round MAX announced in January, which means Nithio and any other new money account for roughly $5 million.
MAX said the funds would go toward vehicle financing, battery swapping and clean transport services in West and Central Africa.
How MAX Makes Money
Founded in 2015, MAX gives commercial drivers electric vehicles on a subscription basis. Riders in its “MAX Champions” program pay a daily fee instead of buying a vehicle outright.
The company also runs battery-swapping stations, digital payments, and fleet management. It operates in 20 cities across Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon, and says it plans to enter nine more African markets.
MAX reports that it has deployed more than $56 million in fleet financing and recovered $44 million in repayments. It says it became profitable in Nigeria in January.
Those figures come from the company. MAX has not published audited accounts, and it has not said whether its Ghana and Cameroon operations are profitable.
Why Nithio Is Interested
Nithio has mostly financed clean energy businesses. It uses data and artificial intelligence to assess borrowers in markets where credit histories are thin.
Electric transport is a natural extension. Riders need financing for vehicles, and operators need capital for batteries and charging infrastructure.
This is not Nithio’s first mobility deal. In February, it provided a $7 million debt facility to Spiro, the electric motorcycle company, as part of a $50 million round that included Afreximbank.
Spiro is also a MAX supplier. That gives Nithio exposure to two companies that depend on each other.
Fuel Prices Are the Selling Point
Nigeria ended its petrol subsidy in May 2023. Petrol that cost under ₦200 a liter now sells for about ₦1,350 to ₦1,409 in Lagos and Abuja.
For commercial riders, fuel can eat 40 to 60 percent of daily earnings, according to industry estimates. MAX says its electric vehicles cut combined energy and maintenance costs by more than 40 percent compared with petrol bikes.
Solar power is part of that pitch. MAX says it has 1 megawatt-peak of solar capacity and that its energy hubs deliver electricity at half the cost of Nigeria’s top grid tariff.
The savings only matter if they hold up on the road. Riders must earn enough to cover daily subscriptions. Swap stations must sit along their routes. And MAX must service vehicles and batteries without eroding its margins.
A Patchwork of Partners
MAX relies on several partners for vehicles and batteries.
Through Spiro, it has scaled to nearly 7,000 electric motorcycles toward a first phase of 10,000. It works with NOVR on batteries that offer more than 150 kilometers of range. In Ghana, it partners with Kofa and the manufacturer TailG, using Kofa’s swapping network.
The company also runs an assembly plant in Ibadan with a reported capacity of 3,600 vehicles a month.
Multiple suppliers give MAX flexibility. They also mean different vehicle platforms and battery systems to maintain, which can raise costs as the fleet grows.
Power Remains the Bottleneck
Nigeria’s grid delivers about 4,000 megawatts to more than 200 million people. Outages are routine.
Public charging is sparse. Reuters reported that Nigeria had about 48 public charging stations by late 2025, mostly in Lagos and Abuja. South Africa had more than 500. Electric vehicles make up less than 1 percent of Nigeria’s fleet.
Policy is shifting. Nigeria exempted electric vehicles from value-added tax in 2024 and cut import duties to zero this year. The government also approved tax waivers for nearly 4,000 electric vehicles in the first half of 2026.
Lower import costs help. They do not fix unreliable power, scarce spare parts or thin service networks.
The Road to 2027
MAX wants to support 250,000 drivers and reach more than $150 million in annual recurring revenue by 2027. It says it has served 60,000 operators to date.
Hitting that target means roughly quadrupling its driver base in about a year, while keeping repayment rates high and costs low.
Profitability in Nigeria gives MAX a foundation. Whether it travels to new markets, each with its own power grid, regulations and fuel prices, is the test the new money now has to fund.
