“We are building a platform where trust and transparency are central to every transaction,” said Kaoru Kaganoi, co-founder of Peach Cars. “This funding allows us to enhance the customer experience and expand our model to serve more markets across Africa.”
The new funding will support its growth and simplify the car buying and selling process across the continent and highlights the growing investor interest in digital platforms that provide structured and scalable solutions within Africa’s automotive sector.
Founded in 2020 by Kaoru Kaganoi and Zachary Petroni, Peach Cars wants to revolutionize car ownership in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly for locally used vehicles.
In March last year, Peach Cars joined forces with Umba Microfinance Bank to introduce a groundbreaking 24-hour car financing option for customers to make car ownership more accessible and convenient.
Then later in the same year, it raised $5 million in seed funding led by The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC) from Japan, along with participation from notable angel investors including Shintaro Yamada (founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mercari), Peter Kenevan (VP, Head of Japan at PayPal), and Hiroaki Ohta (general partner at Japan’s Waseda University Ventures).
Established in 2020 by Kaoru Kaganoi and Zachary Petroni, Peach Cars aims to enhance trust, transparency, and customer experience in the growing used-vehicle market across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Customers can access pre-vetted vehicles, receive help with administrative paperwork, and benefit from secure payment systems, which greatly reduce the risks typically associated with informal car transactions.
The support from Suzuki Global Ventures aligns with their strategic vision, as they see Peach Cars playing a crucial role in developing automotive infrastructure across emerging economies in Africa. “We are extremely impressed with Peach’s ‘customer-first’ ethos and their ability to operate with integrity in one of the most complex automotive markets in the world,” said Mike Sarchet, Senior Director at SGV. “This investment reflects Suzuki’s broader strategy: Africa is our next India, and Peach Cars is building the infrastructure we want to be a part of.”
The African used car market is worth billions of dollars annually, yet it remains largely informal. Many consumers lack access to reliable vehicle information or safe financing options. Peach Cars’ tech-driven approach aims to provide scalable solutions to these long-standing challenges.
With the new funding, Peach Cars intends to strengthen its presence in Kenya, expand into other African countries, and invest in AI-powered tools for vehicle inspections, pricing, and matchmaking between buyers and sellers. As digital innovation transforms Africa’s automotive landscape, Peach Cars positions itself at the forefront of a trust-based, consumer-friendly future for used car transactions.
