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- ARC Ride to add 600 new swapping cabinets with $10m loan
ARC Ride to add 600 new swapping cabinets with $10m loan
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 | Kenyan EV company ARC Ride has secured a loan of $10 million from Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers. The loan marks Mirova Gigaton Fund’s first investment in Sub-Saharan Africa’s EV sector. The $10 million facility will fund over 600 battery-swapping cabinets and 25,000 batteries, structured as senior secured debt with a five-year tenor. |
Mirova’s loan is the second major funding ARC Ride received this year after a $5 million equity rasie from British International Investment (BII). Its aggregate haul is one of the highest raised by EV companies in Africa this year.
ARC Ride is among the largest EV companies in Kenya, with more than 144 battery swapping cabinets. It had been lacking capital to build more cabinets to serve a growing number of electric motorcycle riders.
Our take: The five-year tenure of the loan is quite short and puts pressure on ARC Ride to deliver returns… Read more (2 min)
 | Philmatt Otieno had a problem with high fuel prices. Commuting to work in his car was expensive. When he had enough, he decided to convert his vehicle to use LPG to cut costs. He had considered converting his car to an EV, but the prices quoted were beyond his reach. For about 10% of what he would have spent on EV conversion, he got his car ready to use LPG. |
There are an estimated 20,000 vehicles in Kenya that use LPG, and the number is growing rapidly as fuel prices climb. LPG-powered vehicles are seen as a cheap and reliable alternative to EVs.
While the number of EV charging stations is growing by the months, they are still roundly outnumbered by LPG refuelling points.
 | Electric mobility startups need asset financing ahead of equity and debt, says Stuart Minnaar, the manager of MobilityX Africa, an investment platform for startups. He wants to help them avoid equity dilution and heavy debts. Under his model, MobilityX Africa purchases assets like batteries and swapping stations, letting companies use them and repay from revenue generated. |
MobilityX Africa oversees MobilityX Ventures, which funds electric mobility startups across Africa. He is also a managing partner at Spain-based Fundie Ventures, a role he has held for a decade.
“Data drives everything we do, helping investors make informed decisions despite Africa’s inconsistent records,” says Mr Minnaar. “We harmonise founder insights, investor knowledge, reports, and battery management data into a reliable dataset which helps investors make decisions”.
Paul Musasizi (left), Kiira Motors CEO, travels with expo guests in Uganda
Events
📅 Register for Smarter Mobility Africa in South Africa (Oct 1)
📅 Attend Africa Startup Festival in Kenya (Oct 30)
📅 Book a slot at E-Mobility and Infrastructure Africa Summit (Nov 26)
Jobs
👩🏻💻 Become a Senior Back End Developer at Ebikes Africa (Kenya)
💻 Perform IT Support operations at MAX (Nigeria)
👩🏻⚖️ Join Watu Credit as a Legal Counsel (Kenya)
Various
⚡ Dangote Group says EVs are the next phase in logistics upgrade
🔌 Autel Energy powers South Africa’s largest public EV bus charging project
💰 Nigeria gets $1.5m boost for battery recycling
Seen on LinkedIn
Niko Kadjaia, co-founder of Tri, says, “Now we’re plugging in the financing with the most attractive cost of capital. We have a simple rule: use debt for proven cases, use equity for exploration. TZ is definitely a proven case.”