Lagride has secured a 100 million dollar financing facility from United Bank for Africa to scale its Drive To Own programme and accelerate its long-term vision of transforming drivers into asset owners, fleet partners, and mobility investors. The facility supports 3,500 Lagos drivers and positions Lagride as the most structured, data-led, and bankable mobility platform in Nigeria.
Unlike traditional ride-hailing or vehicle-leasing models, Lagride operates as a disciplined mobility system built on governance, performance data, and long-term economic participation. Over the past 10 months, the platform has undergone a complete operational rebuild, redesigning how drivers are onboarded, managed, evaluated, and financed.
At the centre of this rebuild is Lagride’s Drive To Earn framework, supported by weekly and monthly rental models that generate verifiable performance, safety, and repayment data. This data layer enables financial institutions to assess driver creditworthiness with confidence and provides a foundation for structured asset financing at scale.
Building a New Class of Mobility Entrepreneurs
Speaking on the milestone, Chief Diana Chen, Chairman of Lagride, emphasized that the Drive To Own programme is not an endpoint, but a gateway to enterprise building.
She explained that Lagride’s long-term ambition is to move drivers up the value chain from operators to owners and ultimately to investors and partners capable of managing multiple vehicles and teams.
Lagride is intentionally designed to help drivers build financial discipline, operational credibility, and scalable ownership capacity. Through this model, drivers are positioned to grow from managing a single car into running structured fleets, employing others, and participating meaningfully in Lagos’ mobility economy.
The UBA facility aligns directly with this vision, supporting not just vehicle access but long-term wealth creation, governance, and enterprise growth within the transportation sector.
Why UBA Backed Lagride
At the signing ceremony, Oliver Alawuba, Group Managing Director and CEO of United Bank for Africa, shared a personal reflection on his father, who had been a professional driver. He spoke about transportation as a foundation for dignity, livelihoods, and economic mobility, and why UBA views the sector as critical to inclusive growth.
He also described his reaction when Chief Diana Chen first articulated the Lagride vision, noting that it stood out for its clarity, discipline, and long-term economic logic. According to him, Lagride represents the structured, data-backed, and transformational platform that financial institutions can responsibly support at scale.
A Platform, Not Just a Ride Service
Lagride’s positioning extends beyond mobility into workforce development, asset financing, and enterprise creation. Eligibility for the Drive To Own programme is based on defined performance benchmarks, safety compliance, service consistency, and repayment discipline, creating a transparent pathway from daily earnings to ownership and investment.
This structure has allowed Lagride to emerge as Nigeria’s most credit-ready mobility platform, setting a new standard for how transportation can be financed, governed, and scaled in African cities.
Key Participants
The event brought together leadership from Lagride, UBA, and CIG Motors Group, including:
- Chief Diana Chen, Chairman, Lagride
- Ademola Adeyemi, Lagride Academy and Driver Management Team Lead
- Dorathy Akpan Etim, Lagride Captain on the Drive To Own Scheme with UBA
- Brigadier General Chukwuemeka Udaya, Special Adviser to the Chairman on Government Relations, who signed on behalf of CIG Motors
- Ifeanyi Abraham, PR Director, Lagride, who hosted the event
- Senior executives from UBA, Lagride, and CIG Motors Group were also in attendance.
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The Bigger Picture
With this facility, Lagride is positioning transportation as an investment class, not just a service. By combining technology, data, financing and operational discipline, the platform is building a scalable mobility economy where drivers can become business owners, employers and long-term partners in Lagos’ transportation future.
For African cities grappling with unemployment, informal transport systems and limited access to asset financing, Lagride offers a replicable model for building bankable, inclusive and future-ready mobility infrastructure.
