Peach Tech, the Nairobi-founded startup behind Peach Cars, has raised $11 million in a Series A round led by Suzuki Global Ventures (SGV), the venture capital arm of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan’s leading automaker with around 40% market share in India. SGV’s investment enhances Suzuki’s presence in Africa’s mobility sector through Peach, signaling confidence in the continent’s emerging automotive opportunity.
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“We’re inspired by Peach’s founders, who have committed themselves to Africa and tackle local challenges with meticulous, on-the-ground execution. Peach’s customer-first philosophy – putting satisfaction and trust before scale – mirrors Suzuki’s own values. Africa is Suzuki’s next frontier after India, and a healthy, transparent secondary-car market is essential to our future growth on the continent. Peach is building exactly that infrastructure, transforming a fast-moving but underserved market into one that is structured, trusted, and scalable. We’re proud to lead this round and support their journey,” said Mike Sarchet, a Senior Director at Suzuki Global Ventures.
Also joining the round are the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), policy-based finance institution wholly owned by the Japanese government, and The Gogin Capital Co., Ltd., the venture capital arm of a major Japanese regional bank. Returning investor UTEC (The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners) doubled down with a super pro-rata investment, underscoring continued conviction in Peach’s model, team, and market opportunity.
This milestone gives Peach the fuel to expand into new markets, build deeper trust infrastructure, and scale a platform that’s already helping thousands of customers across Kenya make one of the most important purchases of their lives – with confidence.
“For most people across Africa, buying a car isn’t just a transaction – it’s a major life event,” said Kaoru Kaganoi, Founder and CEO of Peach. “This raise isn’t just capital – it’s a vote of confidence in an African mobility model that works. One that’s customer-first, tech-enabled, and built for long-term trust.”
JBIC provides a wide range of financing across the world from infrastructure to startups. Peach is the first African startup in JBIC’s Startup Investment Strategy – affirming its role as a launchpad for Japanese innovation on the continent.
“Africa remains a region of significant potential for market expansion, underpinned by sustained economic growth and a steadily rising population, and Peach reflects the kind of high-integrity, high-impact business we want to back,” said a JBIC representative. “We’re excited to be part of a solution that could transform trust in Africa’s mobility ecosystem.”
Meanwhile, UTEC returns to the cap table with deepened conviction. “Peach has demonstrated a seamless blend of technology and operational excellence with customer centricity to achieve market leadership in Kenya’s online-used-car ecosystem,” said Kiran Mysore, a Principal at UTEC. “Having led their seed round in 2022, we are thrilled to deepen our commitment through this Series A investment alongside eminent strategic and institutional investors.”
With this funding, Peach Tech will:
- Achieve full national coverage across Kenya, expanding its reach beyond Nairobi and into underserved counties
- Build the foundation for regional expansion into East and Sub Saharan Africa ● Grow its product and engineering teams to digitize, scale and optimize its platform through rigorous R & D efforts
- Open new service and inspection centers to boost vehicle quality
- Launch new verticals, including easier access to genuine parts procurement, logistics, and deeper financing options.
At Peach, we’ve spent years building for the long game,” said Zachary Petroni, COO and Co-founder of Peach. “From infrastructure to operations, we’re designing a system that scales trust as much as it scales transactions. This raise allows us to deepen our commitment to customers while opening the door to even more innovation.”
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