London-headquartered mobility fintech GoCab has appointed Moulaye Tabouré, the co-founder and former chief executive of defunct pan-African e-commerce platform Anka, to lead its Ivory Coast operations. The move comes less than a year after Anka’s French parent was liquidated and its assets sold, marking a swift return to an operational frontline for one of Francophone Africa’s most visible entrepreneurs.
Tabouré, 35, will oversee GoCab’s largest country operation, a fleet of more than 1,200 premium ride-hailing vehicles and 200 fully electric cars that serve as the main partner for Yango, the ride-hailing service operated by Russian internet group Yandex. GoCab, which has raised $45m in equity and debt, provides drivers with a “drive-to-own” financing package — daily payments are automatically deducted from drivers’ digital wallets and, after three years, the vehicle becomes their property.
The appointment is a sharp turn in Tabouré’s career. In 2016 he co-founded Afrikrea, later rebranded Anka, a marketplace and payments infrastructure platform that enabled African artisans to sell to a global customer base. The business raised roughly $13.5m from backers including the International Finance Corporation, Proparco, and Bpifrance. But its French parent, MANSAART, entered judicial recovery proceedings in Paris on 1 July 2025 and was placed into liquidation just 28 days later after authorities determined it could not be saved. Its assets, primarily the Anka platform, were acquired by newly formed Global Shop Group for an undisclosed sum. Tabouré and his co-founders exited the business.
In a social media post announcing his new role, Tabouré acknowledged the symmetry with his earliest business experience: a minibus known as a Sotrama that he bought and dispatched to Bamako years before entering the technology sector. “From the Sotrama of my early days to today’s electric ride-hailing vehicles, the issue remains the same: how to build more reliable, more professional, more inclusive and more useful mobility,” he wrote. “I’m not coming to GoCab as someone new to mobility. I’m coming with a lot of humility, because I know how demanding this profession is. But I’m also coming with a lot of energy.”
GoCab’s Ivory Coast operation is central to a broader push into Francophone Africa, a region where larger rival Moove — the Uber-backed Nigerian vehicle-financing company reportedly valued at over $1bn — has a lighter presence. Founded in 2024 by former investment bankers Azamat Sultan and Hendrick Ketchemen, GoCab sources vehicles in bulk from China and bundles insurance and maintenance into a single daily fee. The company says the structure allows drivers to earn roughly four times the local minimum wage and, by eventually owning the asset, build long-term financial stability. In its latest funding round, a $15m equity portion was co-led by E3 Capital and Janngo Capital, while a $30m debt commitment, partly structured as Shariah-compliant, finances vehicle purchases.
Tabouré takes over a business that already accounts for the largest electric ride-hailing fleet in Côte d’Ivoire and, the company claims, possibly West Africa. GoCab has set a target of 50 per cent electric vehicles across its total fleet by end-2026, arguing the shift will shield driver earnings from fuel-price swings and stabilise repayment rates. The company is on track to generate $17m in annual recurring revenue and aims to reach $100m by 2027, with 10,000 active vehicles across eight countries.
The hire also illustrates a broader post-failure pattern among African founders. According to Launch Base Africa’s recent research, 45.2 per cent of African founders whose start-ups collapse transition into employment at larger companies, often in roles that draw on their entrepreneurial expertise.
His immediate priorities, according to people familiar with the matter, will be to deepen the electric-vehicle transition, tighten driver-support systems and manage the substantial maintenance infrastructure the company has built — including what it describes as the largest garage and service centre in Côte d’Ivoire.
For Tabouré, the role is a return to an industry he first encountered long before venture capital term sheets and court-administered liquidations. “In a way, it’s come full circle,” he wrote. “And this time, it’s electric.”