UAE Fintech Naran Raises $10 Million to Scale Rent-to-Own Mobility
The mobility fintech targets underbanked drivers across Africa, Latin America, and the MENA region to bridge the credit gap.
UAE-based mobility fintech Naran has raised $10 million through a combination of equity and debt financing from Landel, a UAE-based investment firm. The capital injection is earmarked to scale the company's rent-to-own vehicle financing operations across high-growth emerging markets.
Naran provides specialized financing for cars and motorcycles, specifically targeting "underbanked" drivers who typically lack the formal credit histories required by traditional banks. Founded in 2025 by former Yango employees Bayaskhalan Alexeev and Alexander Gubarev, the company currently operates in Colombia, Peru, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire. The new funding will allow Naran to expand its existing fleets in these regions while facilitating entry into new markets, including the MENA region.
The Financing Gap
Naran operates at the intersection of mobility and fintech, addressing a systemic lack of credit access in regions where informal employment is prevalent. In sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, informal employment accounts for nearly 88% of the workforce, creating a barrier for gig workers seeking to own their tools of trade.
To bypass these hurdles, Naran purchases vehicles directly from manufacturers and partners with ride-hailing platforms such as inDrive and Yango. By acting as a supply engine for these services, Naran enables drivers to transition from renters to owners through asset-backed credit, while simultaneously helping them establish formal repayment histories. The company manages this process via a proprietary fleet management system that integrates onboarding, payments, and telematics.
Industry Implications
This model solves a dual problem: it increases the earning potential of individual drivers and removes supply-side constraints for ride-hailing platforms in emerging economies. By securing the loans with revenue-generating, GPS-tracked assets, Naran reduces the risk profile associated with lending to the underbanked.
"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.
Strategic Outlook
For investors, the appeal lies in the tangible nature of the assets. Aidar Musin, Managing Partner at Landel, noted that Naran represents a rare combination of an asset-backed business run by a team with deep operational experience in these specific markets.
As Naran moves into the MENA region and scales its presence in Africa and Latin America, the company's success will likely depend on its ability to maintain fleet security and repayment rates across diverse regulatory environments. The expansion marks a broader trend of fintechs utilizing alternative data and asset-backed models to penetrate markets previously ignored by global financial institutions.