UAE-based mobility fintech Naran has raised $10 million in a combination of equity and debt financing from UAE investment firm Landel, as it looks to expand its vehicle financing operations across emerging markets.
The new capital will be used to scale Naran’s mobility fleets in Colombia, Peru, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, enter new markets including the MENA region, and launch additional fintech products built around its asset-backed financing model.
Founded in 2025 by Bayaskhalan Alexeev and Alexander Gubarev, both former Yango executives, Naran provides rent-to-own financing for cars and motorcycles to independent ride-hailing and delivery drivers. The founders previously launched and scaled ride-hailing operations across Latin America and Africa.
Naran purchases vehicles directly from manufacturers and works with mobility platforms including Yango and inDrive to connect drivers with vehicles through financing agreements ranging from 12 to 60 months. The model is primarily aimed at underbanked drivers who may struggle to qualify for traditional vehicle loans because of irregular income or limited credit histories.
“We address a critical financing gap in emerging markets, where ride-hailing and delivery drivers can’t access traditional bank loans due to irregular income or limited credit histories,” said Bayaskhalan Alexeev, CEO and co-founder of Naran. “Our goal is to make vehicle ownership accessible to mobility entrepreneurs, helping them increase their income and build financial security.”
Building financial infrastructure around mobility
Beyond financing vehicles, Naran has developed an in-house fleet management system that manages driver onboarding, payment schedules, vehicle utilisation, telematics and maintenance across its markets.
The technology provides the company with a common operating infrastructure as it expands across different geographies, while generating repayment and vehicle performance data that can be used to develop additional financial products.
Each vehicle contract also allows drivers to establish a formal repayment history, forming part of Naran’s longer-term ambition to build an asset-backed financing platform for emerging markets.
The company eventually plans to make its technology available to third-party fleet operators as a SaaS product. Its broader strategy could also include providing debt financing to fleet operators for expansion and selectively acquiring operators where it sees attractive economics.
Under this approach, Naran is positioning itself not only as a fleet owner and financier, but as infrastructure for a wider network of mobility operators.
For ride-hailing and delivery platforms, the company acts as a supply partner, bringing financed vehicles together with vetted and onboarded drivers. Naran said it is open to partnerships with mobility platforms expanding across Latin America, Africa and MENA.
“Naran is a rare combination in emerging markets: an asset-backed business where every dollar deployed is secured by a revenue-generating, GPS-tracked vehicle, run by a team with deep operational experience in these exact markets,” said Aidar Musin, Managing Partner at Landel.
Emerging markets opportunity
Access to conventional financing remains a significant obstacle for workers across many of Naran’s target markets. In sub-Saharan Africa, where informal employment accounts for a large share of the workforce, limited credit histories and irregular earnings can make traditional vehicle financing difficult to obtain.
That financing gap is emerging alongside growing demand for ride-hailing and shared mobility services, creating an opportunity for alternative financing models that can increase the supply of drivers and vehicles.
Naran is targeting significant expansion over the remainder of the decade. By 2030, the company aims to operate in 10 countries, deploy a fleet of 10,000 cars and 20,000 motorcycles, and create 30,000 income opportunities.
The company’s planned expansion into MENA will also extend its operating footprint closer to its UAE base, as it seeks to build a cross-border mobility financing business spanning Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
