LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rivonia Road Capital LLC, a global alternative asset manager, focused on credit for high-growth companies, announced today that it has provided Planet42 with $75 million in debt financing, alongside an equity investment in Planet42’s most recent fundraise.
Planet42, based in Tallinn, Estonia, and backed by Naspers, one of the world’s largest technology investors, was founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs Eerik Oja and Marten Orgna to fight transport inequality by putting cars in the hands of people unfairly ignored by the banking system. Planet42 provides socially inclusive car subscription in emerging markets through fully remote onboarding followed by continuous engagement throughout the customer journey. Its proprietary algorithms segment and score risk in the underbanked population allowing it to better and more responsibly address a large and underserved customer base, most of whom would otherwise not have access to affordable vehicle finance.
“Rivonia Road is excited to partner with Planet42 by providing the capital needed to address this market inefficiency and help expand access to mobility for thousands of underserved consumers around the world,” Rivonia Road Capital’s co-founder and Managing Partner, Daniel Zinn said. “Planet42 is a unique and transformational company, offering a life-changing solution to the people that it serves. Planet42’s exceptional founding and management team have achieved substantial traction since inception in very large, but historically underserved markets. We look forward to being a part of Planet42’s ongoing success.”
Since inception in 2017, Planet42 has delivered 15,000 cars to its customers in South Africa and Mexico with 5x growth in the last 12 months alone. Planet42’s goal is to deliver 1 million cars to consumers globally.
“We’re thrilled to have Rivonia Road backing Planet42 in our mission to democratize mobility in emerging markets,” Planet42’s co-founder and CEO Eerik Oja said. “This debt facility allows us to buy 10,000 cars for deserving people in South Africa, enabling them to access opportunities like jobs, education and public services more easily when public transport is often unreliable, painfully slow, unsafe - and usually all those things at once.”
About Rivonia Road Capital: Rivonia Road Capital is a global alternative asset manager that offers a unique combination of deep institutional investment experience with significant operating expertise in the alternative financing market to provide bespoke capital solutions to growing financial technology and related companies. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the firm has an active debt and equity investment portfolio in the consumer, commercial, and real estate lending markets. For more information, go to www.rivoniaroad.com.
About Planet42:
Planet42 is a mobility startup that offers rent-to-buy car subscriptions. Founded in 2017 in Estonia and with operations in South Africa and Mexico, Planet42 is fighting transport inequality by putting cars in the hands of people unfairly ignored by banks. By combining a proprietary scoring engine with a robust car dealership partner network, Planet42 has been able to buy cars for 15,000 people that struggle with access to traditional vehicle financing.
Planet42 has raised $150 million in combined equity and debt funding from investors such as Naspers, Change Ventures, Startup Wise Guys, Martin Villig (Bolt), Ragnar Sass (Pipedrive) and Andrew Rolfe as well as credit providers such as Rivonia Road Capital. It has been certified as a CarbonNeutral® company since 2021 by Climate Impact Partners, the leading experts on carbon neutrality and climate finance. Planet42 aims to buy 1 million cars for its customers worldwide. For more information, go to www.planet42.com.
