Africa’s charging stations are struggling to make money

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It will take years for African charging companies to break even due to the low electric vehicle penetration, said stakeholders during the recently concluded Enlit Africa 2025 summit held in South Africa. “We need about 100,000 vehicles on the road before any of us will see real profitability,” said Winstone Jordaan (see picture), the director of charging firm GridCars.  

• The cost of building an EV charging station mainly depends on the type and number of chargers, land, labour, and utilities. In Kenya, one station cost electricity utility Kenya Power Ksh6.5 million ($50,300). In South Africa, it costs between $28,000 and $112,000 and in Egypt, it starts from about $14,000.   

• While the majority of EV owners charge their vehicles at home, public fast chargers are critical to the electric mobility ecosystem. They help ease range anxiety, but low demand and high installation costs are deterring investment. Increased EV sales could enable charging companies to become profitable faster. 

• Our take: Investment in charging infrastructure should be a collaborative effort among owners of real estate such as fuel stations, hotels, malls, restaurants, hospitals and schools… Read more (2 min)

More details

• The panel discussion highlighted the need for increased investment, especially in non-grid reliant charging models. But stakeholders warned that investment into EV charging infrastructure could take a long time to bear fruit “If you go into EV charging, it’s not to make revenue,” said Larissa Venter, the chief stakeholder officer at Charge. 

• The consensus was that for charging companies to become sustainable, the number of EVs on the road must increase significantly. In 2024 for instance, South Africa sold only 15,611 units of new energy vehicles (fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids). Charging companies however reckon that this number has to grow to more than 100,000 for the business to become profitable.

• In countries like Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, charging companies also sell electric vehicles. For some, selling EVs is the main business, with charging serving as a complimentary revenue. This reduces financial pressure on the charging business. 

• On the brighter side, charging startups have been raising significant funding to scale. Audi has in the recent past invested $2.5 million in South African charging companies Rubicon and GridCars, while just last month, Charge raised $.5.5 million from the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Kenya-based EV startup ARC Ride raised $5 million from British International Investment to build swapping stations. . 

• But it is clear that demand for EVs has to grow to make the millions of dollars that are being invested in charging infrastructure on the continent annually to make financial sense. The number of electric cars sold in Africa last year was just 11,000, a tiny fraction of annual motor vehicle sales. More EVs on the road will increase revenue for charging companies, and this could be used to fuel organic expansion. 

• While demand for EVs in Africa is largely private sector-led, governments should play their part to facilitate the growth. Import taxes on EVs should be lowered to make them more affordable, while supportive policies regarding charging infrastructure should be implemented. 

• At the same time, companies can learn from each other on how to innovate and introduce charging solutions that are tailored to Africa. For instance, solutions like solar-powered charging stations being built by Charge in South Africa and SolCharge in Ethiopia could help lower costs for charging companies in the long term. 

Our take

• Companies should focus on selling and promoting affordable EV models, including two- and three-wheelers, which are seeing higher uptake and offer a more accessible entry point for mass adoption across the continent. 

• Peer-to-peer learning between charging companies in different countries to share best practices and technologies can accelerate the development and deployment of affordable and reliable charging infrastructure, reducing costs and maximizing efficiency in a low-demand environment.

• There is a need for comprehensive and consistent government policies that specifically support charging infrastructure development. This includes streamlined permitting processes, land allocation for charging stations, and potentially even initial subsidies or incentives for public charging deployments.